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COPV-RIGHT DEPOSIT. 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES 

OF 

AMERICA 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES 



OF 



AMERICA 



BY 

CHARLES MORRIS 

iUTHOR OF "history OF THE UNITED STATES*' (ADVANCED, ELEMENTA »■» 

AND primary), "history OF THE WORLD," "HISTORICAL 

TALES OF THE NATIONS," ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED 




> > 

5 .> •> 



PHILADELPHIA 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 



E'''^8 



• f 



■MSI 



Copyright, 1890, by J. B. Lippincott Companv 



Copyright, 1898, by J. B. Lippincott Company, 



Copyright, 1900, by J. B. Lippincott Company, 



Copyright, 1907, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 



Copyright, 1909, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 



Copyright, 1912, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 



Copyright, 1913, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 



Copyright, i9i4,by J. B. Lippincott Company. 



/^^, <^ 



Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company 
The Washington Square Press, Philadelphia, U. S. A 



/lUG II 1914 

CI.A37G!)48 



s 



-^ PREFACE 



Histories of the United States of America have 
been many times written, and in many ways; so often, 
indeed, that some might deem there was nothing more 
to say, or no new way of saying it. Yet new histories 
are of yearly appearance, and the world does not seem 
tired of welcoming them. These are usually written 
for the old; but why not new histories for the young? 
— who can certainly find no more profitable reading 
than the story of the origin and development of their 
own country. 

No romance, in fact, can possess more of interest 
and adventure, of heroic efforts and noble deeds, than 
may be found in the history of the discovery and settle- 
ment of the American continent, and the birth and 
growth of the great republic of the United States. In 
all the annals of mankind there is little to surpass it in 
interest, and nothing in importance. To the youthful 
American, indeed, it is indispensable, and whatever 
else he may learn, a full and accurate acquaintance 
with the story of his own land should stand first in his 
course of study, as a requisite preliminary to the 
making of an American citizen. 

This story is too near us to appeal to our minds 
with that glamor of romance which often clings to the 
records of more remote periods. To many it seems 
devoid of the interest of the era of chivalry, the charm 
of knightly deeds and strange adventure, and takes 



vi PREFACE 

form in their minds instead as a detail of prosy incidents 
and matter-of-fact events. Yet such a conception 
does great injustice to the true character of Amer- 
ican history, and to the numerous instances of heroic 
valor and chivalrous honor which give all the interest 
of romance to its pages. The deeds of our pioneers 
have never been surpassed in daring and the spirit of 
adventure, the progress of discovery and settlement in 
this country is a story replete with attractiveness, 
and there is nothing more marvellous in fiction than 
the extraordinary progress of civilization in the region 
of the United States during the few centuries since 
settlement was first made upon its shores. 

History, however, in the modern sense of the word, 
covers a broader space than the tale of war and advent- 
ure, daring migration, and political progress. There is 
the story of the people as well as of their leaders to tell, 
the home life of the masses, the record of manners and 
customs, invention, and peaceful development in the 
arts and sciences. Thus we are not alone concerned 
with war and the rumors of war, but also with peace and 
the triumphs of peace; not alone with political devel- 
opment, the formation of governments, the struggles 
of patriotism, and the growth of republicanism, but 
also with the details of every-day life, the description 
of those powerful influences which have made not only 
America but the Americans, and to which the citi- 
zens of our country owe that spirit of liberty and 
restless energy which has made them the envy of the 
oppressed masses of Europe, and their country the mod- 
ern '^wonder of the world.'* This inner story of the 
American people is here briefly set forth in a series of 



PREFACE vii 

chapters descriptive of city and country life at various 
periods of our colonial and national history, each a 
picture of the people of America as they appeared at 
the times indicated. The progress of invention, strik- 
ing developments of mechanical ability, religious con- 
ditions, and all that makes up the multiform life of a 
great people, have been described as fully as the space 
at command permitted, with the design of making at 
once a history of the American nation and of the 
American people, adapted in style and language to the 
use of the young. As such it is offered to the school 
public of the United States, with the hope that it may 
prove a welcome addition to our historical literature 

C. M. 



CONTENTS- 



PART I. 
THE ERA OF DISCOVERY. 

1. — The Voyage of Columbus 1 

2. — Explorations and Invasions 9 

3. — ^French and English Settlements. , 18 

4.— The Indians. , 26 

Questions for Examination 31 

PART II. 
THE ENGLISH COLONIES. 



1.— Virginia 33 

2. — The Pilgrims and the Puritans 39 

3. — Indian Wars of New England. 49 

4 — Manners and Customs of the Puritans 54 

5. —New York 60 

6.— Life in New York „ 65 

7. — Maryland. , 67 

8. — Pennsylvania 70 

9. — Life in Pennsylvania. , 74 

10.— The Carolinas. . , 77 

11. — Life in Virginia and Carolina 80 

12.— Georgia 85 

13. — Conditions of the Colonies 91 

Questions for Examination 94 

PART III. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

1. — ^The French in America 99 

2. — George Washington 105 

3.— The War in the North Ill 

Questions for Examination 117 

ix 



c CONTENTS. 

PART IV. 

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

1.— The Tyranny of England 119 

2.— The Work of the Minute-Men 126 

3. — The War for Independence 137 

4. — The People and the Country 146 

Questions for Examination 154 

PART V. 

THE FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC. 

1. — The Making of the Government 157 

2. — Washington's Administration 161 

3. — John Adams's Administration 162 

4. — Jefferson's Administration 164 

5. — Madison's Administration 167 

6.— The War with Great Britain 169 

7. — Monroe's Administration 175 

8. — The John Quincy Adams Administration , 178 

9. — The Progress of the Country 179 

Questions for Examination 187 

PART VI. 
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS. 

1. — Jackson's Administration 189 

2o — Van Buren's Administration 192 

3. — The Harrison and Tyler Administration 193 

4. — Polk's Administration and War with Mexico 194 

5.— The Work of the People 199 

Questions for Examination 207 

PART VII. 

THE SLAVERY CONTEST AND CIVIL WAR. 

1. — The Taylor and Fillmore Administration 209 

2. — The Pierce Administration 211 

3. — ^The Buchanan Administration 212 

4. — The Lincoln Administration 214 



CONTENTS. xi 

6.— The North and South at War 216 

6.— The Final Years of the War 226 

Questions for Examination 234 

PART VIII. 

THE NEW UNION. 

1.— Results of the War 236 

2. — Johnson's Administration 23S 

3. — Grant's Administration 242 

4. — The Hayes Administration 245 

5. — The Garfield and Arthur Administration 247 

6. — Cleveland's First Administration 249 

7. — Benjamin Harrison's Administration 251 

8. — The Second Cleveland Administration 255 

9. — McKinley's Administration 257 

10. — Roosevelt's Administration 260 

II. — Taft's Administration 264 

12. — ^Wilson's Administration 267 

Questions for Examination 270 

PART IX. 

RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. 

Recent Stages of Development 272 

Questions for Examination 287 



AN ELEMENTARY HISTORY 

OF THE 

United States 



PART I. 

THE ERA OF DISCOVERY. 



1. THE VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 

Four Hundred Years Ago. — The world had grown old, 
very old, before America was discovered. Great em- 
pires had risen in Europe and Asia, and passed away; 
untold millions of men had lived and died; but not 
half the earth was known. Men did not even know its 
shape. Most persons thought that its surface was flat, 
and that the ocean everywhere spread around the 
land. Sailors were afraid to go far out to sea, and 
most of them kept in sight of land, for no one knew 
what dangers might lie on the open ocean, where 
man had never been. Many thought that a ship which 
sailed far out on the ocean would find itself gliding 
down a hill of waters, up which it could never climb 
again. Others believed that there was a region of fogs 
and mists, from which a ship, once lost, would never 
find its way out. Few of the learned men of the time 
thought that a vessel could pass round the earth and 
return to its starting-point. 
1 1 



2 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

The Mariner's Compass. — Before this time an impor- 
tant discovery had been made. A kind of iron ore was 
found which had strange properties. It was what is 
now known as the loadstone, or natural magnet, and 
which has the power of attracting iron, and of pointing 
north and south. A steel needle rubbed on it acquires 
the same properties. Hung up by its centre, one end 
of the needle points towards the north. This was a dis- 
covery of the utmost importance to seamen. They 
could now, even though they were thousands of miles 
from land, tell by day or night in what direction they 
were sailing. Few things have been more useful to 
mankind than this little magnetic needle, known as the 
Mariner^ s Coinpass. 

Marco Polo. — At the time of which we are speaking 
— the latter part of the fifteenth century — there was 
a great desire to discover new countries. Travellers 
had gone to far-off lands, and had come back with 

strange stories, which filled 
others with the love of 
adventure and discovery. 
One traveller, a Venetian 
named Marco Polo, had 
been as far as China and 
Japan, and brought back 
exciting accounts of the 
riches and wonders of those 
distant lands. The ships 
of the Portuguese had 
sailed down the coast of Africa as far as the Cape of 
Good Hope. The bold sailors of Norway and Denmark 
had crossed the cold northern seas to Iceland and Green- 




A Ship of the Nohthmen. 



THE VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS 3 

land, and had reached the shores of the American 
continent at a point they called Vinland (vine-land), 
though this fact was not known in Southern Europe. 

Christopher Columbus. — Among the many persons 
who wished to go on voyages of discovery was one 
whose name is known to us all, and will be remem- 
bered as long as America exists. He was born at 
Genoa, in Italy, about the year 1435, and was named 
Christopher Columbus. His father w^as a cloth weaver; 
but the people of Genoa were active seamen, and 
Columbus was sent to sea when he was but fourteen 
years of age, and became a skilful sailor. 

The World as then Known. — At that time the only 
region of the world that was well known to Europeans 
was their own country and the parts of Africa and Asia 
which border on the Mediterranean Sea. Of the rest 
of the world they knew very little. India and China 
were said to be rich and populous countries, and their 
silks and jewels and spices were brought to Europe by 
caravans at great expense. Columbus thought that 
these countries could be reached in an easier way. He 
believed that the earth was round, that the ocean 
must extend from the shores of Europe to the shores 
of Asia, and that if he sailed to the west across this 
ocean he would be sure to reach those distant lands. 
He did not know how far it was around the earth, but 
he was sure that land lay beyond the ocean. 

What Columbus Did. — It was not easy to make men 
believe this. For eighteen long years Columbus tried 
in vain to get the kings of Spain and Portugal to aid 
him in his plan. He grew sick at heart with delay and 
disappointment. At last Queen Isabella of Spain said 



THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 



that he should have the ships and men he asked for. If 
money could not be had she would lend her jewels to 
pay for them. And thus it was that Columbus got his 
ships. Three small vessels were given him, — we call 
them ships, but they were no larger than many of the 
sloops and yachts which we see moving up and down 
our large rivers. Two of them, the Pinta and the Nina, 
had no decks except at the prow and stern. Only one 

of them had a complete deck, the 
Santa Maria, commanded by 
Columbus himself. This vessel 
was ninety feet long, and had a 
crew of sixty-six sailors. 

The Size of the Expedition. — 
It seems strange to us that it 
took so many years to induce 
the rulers of a great kingdom to 
furnish a few small ships for a 
voyage across the ocean and the 
discovery of a new world. Many river merchants 
to-day could fit out a much better expedition at a 
day's notice. Nothing could show more clearly how 
the world has grown in riches and enterprise during 
the last four hundred years. 

Columbus had almost as much trouble to get his 
sailors as his ships. Men were afraid to go with him. 
Many of those who sailed with him were forced to do 
so by order of the king, and went on board his ships 
full of fear. There were one hundred and twenty per- 
sons in all in the expedition which set sail from the 
port of Palos, in Spain, on the 3d of August, 1492, a 
date to be remembered in the history of the world 




Columbus. 



THE VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS 



The Voyage of Discovery. — Let us stop here and 
think of the task before our bold mariner. He had set 
sail on the most important voyage that had ever been 
undertaken. As he went onward day by day his ships 
left the known world farther behind them. Day by 
day new wonders and new terrors rose before them. 
The mariners sailed away into a vast ocean upon 




Columbus and the Scientists Discussing the Shape of the Earth. 

which no man had ever before ventured far from land. 
Their fears increased as they went onward. The 
needle of the compass no longer pointed exactly north, 
and this gave them great alarm, for they thought the 
sailor's friend was about to desert them. The winds 
blew them steadily westward; but these same winds 
might hinder them from ever coming back. They were 
ecared by the distance they had gone, though Columbus 
took care not to let them know how far this was. 



6 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

The men demanded to be taken back; they almost 
broke into open mutiny, and some of them talked of 
throwing Columbus overboard and going back without 
him. Yet he was not to be turned from his purpose. 
He had set sail for India, and he w^as determined to go 
on. He was still sure that the continent of Asia lay 
beyond the seas, and that in time they would reach it. 

Approach to Land. — Two months of this wonderful 
voyage passed away. Then the hearts of the sailors 
grew glad as their eyes beheld welcome signs. Land 
birds were seen flying about the ships. One of the 
men picked up out of the water a branch of a tree, on 
which there were fresh red berries. A piece of carved 
wood floated past them, and also some drifting sea 
weed, with live crabs clinging to it. Hope now took the 
place of fear; all eyes looked forward in search of land. 

At last it appeared. During the night before the 12th 
of October a distant light was seen shining across the 
waters. When morning came Columbus, from the deck 
of his little ship, gazed with joy and triumph on the 
green shores of the land he had so long hoped to see. 
There it lay before him, bright and beautiful, — a sunny 
island, covered with forest trees, — a scene of beauty on 
which the eyes of civilized man had never before gazed. 

What Columbus Believed. — The voyage was over; 
the victory was gained. The greatest discovery in 
human history had been made. Yet he who made it 
never knew how great his work had been. To the day 
of his death Columbus believed that it was the coast of 
India he had reached, and he gave the name of Indians 
to the strange, red-skinned natives who crowded out 
of the woods to gaze with wonder on his vessels. 



THE VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS 



It was in this way that the natives of America came 
to be called Indians, after a country thousands of 
miles away. Little did Columbus dream of the great 
continent of America, with its plains and mountains, 
its lakes and forests, peopled then only by savages, 
but which was in time to become the seat of one of the 
greatest and noblest of nations. 




The Landing op Columbub. 



The Landing of Columbus. — At the break of day, 
with waving banners and ringing music, Columbus was 
rowed to the shore. He w^as richly dressed in scarlet 
robes and bore in his hand the great banner of Spain, 
with its bright hues ot red and gold. The captains of 
the other vessels carried a banner designed by Colum- 
bus himself, in the centre of which was a green cross 
On reaching the shore the admiral kneeled and kissed 
the ground; then rising, he drew his sword, and 
declared that the island which he had discovered 



8 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

belonged to the King and Queen of Spain. The natives 
looked on in wonder and admiration. They did not 
dream of the misery all this meant for them. 

New Lands Discovered. — The poor natives supposed 
that the white men had come from heaven. Columbus 
gave them glass beads, and in return they gave what 
they had, — parrots and balls of cotton. They wore 
some ornaments made of gold, and Columbus asked 
them by signs where gold was to be found. They 
pointed to the south. The sailors returned to their 
ships and sailed south among the beautiful islands of 
those seas until they reached the large island now 
known as Hayti. Columbus named it Hispaniola (little 
Spain). From there they sailed back to Spain. 

The Reception in Spain. — The excitement in Spain 
was very great when Columbus and his companions 
returned with their remarkable story. Men heard with 
wonder of lands beyond the seas, inhabited by a race of 
red-skinned savages, and rich beyond their dreams. 
It was said by some that the sands of every river shone 
with grains of gold, that the meanest Indians wore 
ornaments of gold and jewels, and that the walls of 
the houses glittered with pearls. None of these stories 
was too wild for men to believe, and many grew eager 
to visit this New World of wealth and splendor. 

Columbus and his men entered the streets of Barce- 
lona in a grand procession to meet the king and queen 
of Spain. The red Indians, with their decorations of 
tropical feathers and golden ornaments, were looked 
upon with wonder. The bright-winged birds, the 
strange-shaped parrots, the rare plants and fruits, the 
unknown fabrics which were displayed in the procession, 



EXPLORATIONS AND INVASIONS 9 

all excited admiration. Columbus rode triumphantly 
onward, surrounded by a brilliant cavalcade of Spanish 
nobleS; to receive the high honors bestowed upon him 
by the king and queen. Europe had never seen a pro- 
cession like this, for never before had the wonders of a 
new world been shown to the eyes of the Old World, 
as the eastern hemisphere was afterwards called. 

The Misfortunes of the Discoverer. — Yet this was 
almost the last happy moment in the life of the great 
discoverer. The remainder of his life was saddened 
by the injustice of the people, and the ingratitude of 
the monarch of Spain. He made three other voyages 
to America, and in the third voyage discovered the 
mainland of South America, near the mouth of the 
Orinoco River. From one of his voyages he was sent 
home in chains by his enemies. And he had not even 
the honor of giving his name to the continent he had 
discovered. The name of America was taken from 
Amerigo Vespucci, wdiose account of the New World 
was the first to be printed. Columbus died in 1506, of 
a disease brought on by his hardships, troubles, and 
sufferings, a victim of the ingratitude of Spain. He 
gave orders that the chains which had been so shame- 
fully fastened on his limbs should be buried with him. 

2. EXPLORATIONS AND INVASIONS. 

The discovery of America by Columbus was the 
greatest event that had taken place for hundreds of 
years. If such a discovery should be made in our days, 
we may be sure that it would not be long before many 
vessels would be off to the new land. But in those 
days news spread slowly. Ships were few and small, 



10 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

and neither kings nor people had much money. Most 
of what they had was spent in wars. Spain sent vessels 
from time to time to the rich islands which Columbus had 
discovered, but the other nations were slow to send ships. 

The Cabots. — England was the first to follow Spain, 
The town of Bristol, in England, was then a great ship- 
ping port. There lived in this town a merchant named 
John Cabot, who was born at Venice. This man wished 
to go on a voyage of discovery to the new lands, and 
got permission from the king, Henry VII., to do so. 
Cabot taking his son, he sailed across the ocean until he 
reached an unknown coast in the far north. Columbus, 
so far, had discovered only islands and Cabot was the 
first to reach the American continent. This was in 1497. 

Cabot's papers and maps are lost, and all we know 
of his voyage is that he found the country cold and 
barren, and saw a great many white bears. It is 
said that after his return he was called ''The Great 
Admiral," and went about dressed in rich clothing 
and followed by crowds of people. 

The next year his son, Sebastian Cabot, sailed to 
America. He also reached land in the north, but he 
kept on southward until he came to the coast of Vir- 
ginia or Carolina. Like his father, he was received with 
honor on his return. Men called him "The Great Sea- 
man," and many years afterwards Edward VI. gave 
him a pension. He lived to be very old, but the time 
and place of his death are unknown. This was all that 
these men obtained for discovering a continent. Their 
great honor came long after they were dead. 

The Fishermen. — Not long after this the daring 
fishermen of Europe began to make voyages across 



EXPLORATIONS AND INVASIONS 11 

the ocean to the waters of Newfoundland, where the 
Cabots had found fish in vast numbers. One of them, 
named John Denys, sailed up the Gulf of St. Lawrence 
in 1506. But they were after fish, not honor, and did 
not trouble themselves to seek unknown lands. 

Verrazano. — France did not send an expedition to 
the New World till 1524. Then the thought came to 
Francis I., the French king, that he had as much 
right as Spain to the wealth of these distant lands. 
So he had a ship made ready, and gave the command of 
it to an Italian seaman named Verrazano, who sailed 
far along the coast to the harbor of what is now known 
as Newport, Rhode Island, where he found grape-vines 
growing, and began to trade with the Indians. 

But the red men were afraid of their visitors, and 
would not let them land. They lowered their goods 
to the boats with ropes from the tops of steep rocks. 
We do not know what these goods were, but they 
would take nothing in exchange but knives, fish-hooks, 
and tools for cutting. These savages knew very well 
what would be of use to them. 

The Claims of the Nations. — We may know from this 
what little right Spain, England, and France had to 
claim these new lands. They sent ships across the 
ocean and took a look at them from the sea, and then 
said that all the land they had seen belonged to them. 
As for the Indians, no one seemed to think that they 
had any right to the country. They were looked on as 
little better than so many flies, that might be brushed 
aside by any one who was strong enough to do it. 

Cartier's Voyages. — Francis I. now became busy in 
wars with his neighbors, and did not send out any 



12 



THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 



more ships for ten years. Then two ships set sail 
under a captain named Jacques Cartier. They entered 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where Cartier landed and set up 
a cross, with the king's coat of arms fastened to it. This 
was done to secure that region for the King of France. 
Cartier made two more voyages, and sailed up the 
great St. Lawrence River as far as where the city of 
Montreal now stands. He called the country Canada 
from the Indian word ^^Kannatha," which means 

village, but which he thought 
was the Indian name for the 
whole country. 

Ponce de Leon. — While the 
English and French were making 
these discoveries the Spaniards 
were not idle. After Columbus, 
other mariners crossed the ocean, 
making new discoveries and 
forming settlements. In 1512 
Ponce de Leon, the governor of 
Porto Rico, set out on a romantic voyage. He had 
been told by the Indians of a magical fountain which 
would bring back youth to every man who bathed in 
its waters. As he was growing old, he was eager to 
find this wonderful fountain, that he might bathe in 
it, and be young again. In his search for it he 
found a new country, which he called Florida. But 
he did not discover the fountain, and got death instead 
of life from his effort, for he was killed by the Indians. 
Balboa. — -Another Spaniard, named Balboa, crossed 
the isthmus which connects North and South America, 
and looked with wonder on the waters of that great 




Ponce de Leon. 



EXPLORATIONS AND INVASIONS 



13 



Pacific Ocean which no white man's eyes had ever 
before seen. He had made a long and dangerous jour- 
ney over mountains and through fierce tribes of Indians, 
but he was paid for all his trouble when he saw, from 
the summit of a lofty hill, the waters of that great 
ocean, brightly shining in the rays of the sun. Never 
had man made a more glorious discovery, or human 
eyes gazed on a nobler sight. 




An Aztec Temple. 

Magellan. — Three years after the death of Balboa, a 
Spanish fleet, under Fernando Magellan, sailed round 
South America, through the strait that now bears 
his name, and came out on the waters of the great 
ocean which Balboa had seen. One of Magellan's ships 
went on until it had sailed round the globe, and proved 
in this way that the earth is round. Magellan thus com- 
pleted the work which Columbus had set out to do. 

Cortez and Pizarro. — Before many years had passed 
the Spaniards did some bold and marvellous deeds on 



14 THE ERA OI DISCOVERY 

the American continent. One captain, named Cortez, 
with a few hundred men, conquered the great empire of 
Mexico; and another, named Pizarro, did the same in 
the rich kingdom of Peru. They sent to Spain great 
quantities of gold and silver. But the Indians were 
treated by them with dreadful cruelty, and great num- 
bers of the red men died of inhuman treatment before 
the Spaniards had been many years in their land. 

Narvaez. — Another Spaniard, named Narvaez, landed 
in Florida in 1528, and went far to the north. 
He and his comrades were in search of gold; but 
instead of rich cities, like those of Mexico, they found 
only swamps and forests and fighting Indians, and of 
three hundred men only four came back alive. 

Hernando de Soto. — There is one more Spaniard 
about whom we must speak, for he was the first white 
man whose eyes fell upon the great Mississippi River, 
and his adventures were very interesting. While other 
nations of Europe were sending ships to look at the coast 
of the New World, Hernando de Soto was wandering far 
through its interior and making important discoveries. 

In 1539, De Soto landed in Florida with an army of 
about six hundred men, and with plenty of arms and 
provisions. He was a soldier who had been in Peru 
with Pizarro, and he wished to conquer Florida as 
Pizarro had conquered Peru. The whole country to 
the far west was then called Florida, and De Soto 
expected to find there great cities and much gold and 
silver, such as had been found in Peru and Mexico. 
He did not dream that he would find only tribes of 
poor savages, with no treasures of any value to him, 
and that he would never leave their country alive. 




EXPLORATIONS AND INVASIONS 15 

De Soto's Expedition. — The overland march of the 
Spaniards was a long and tiresome one. The men soon 
wanted to go back, but De Soto 
would not listen to them. From 
time to time the Indians gave 
him pearls, or ornaments of gold, 
and this kept him full of hope. 
He felt sure there must be rich 
nations ahead, and he kept march- 
ing on and on, seeking the gold 
which he never found. 
The Indians were angry at seeing 

■ 1 , • l^ • I De Soto. 

these strangers m their country, 

and at the cruel manner in which the Spaniards treated 
them, and many fierce battles took place. The Span- 
iards were always victorious, but numbers of them were 
killed, and they suffered much from the want of food. 

De Soto led his army along the coast lands of the 
Gulf of Mexico, through tribe after tribe of Indians, 
These men in iron armor, with their prancing horses 
and shining arms, their banners and music and waving 
plumes, must have been a strange vision to the igno- 
rant savages. But the natives soon found that those 
whom they at first took to be gods were only men, 
and they sought to drive them from their country. 

The Mississippi. — Yet De Soto kept on. In time he 
reached a point near where the city of Memphis now 
stands. Here, to his delight, he saw before him a 
mighty river, the great stream now known as the 
Mississippi. It was with proud eyes that the Spaniards 
gazed on this noble stream, flowing down grandly 
from the distant north. 



16 



THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 



They soon had to cross this river to escape the 
Indians, and they roamed for many miles through the 
country on the other side. The Indians here wished 
to be friendly, but the Spaniards as usual treated them 
badly, and as a result they tried to kill the whites. 




De Soto Discovering the Mississippi. 



The Fate of De Soto and His Men. — For three years 
De Soto and his men had been in the wilds of Amer- 
ica, and had found nothing but hard marching, fight- 
ing, and the pangs of hunger. At length they decided 
oo return to their own country. But the bold leader did 
not live to see his native land again. Worn out with 
his toil, he died on the banks of the great river he had 
discovered, and was buried in its waters to save his 
body from the fury of the Indians. He was sunk in 
the waves at dead of night, and his followers began to 
build themselves boats, for they did not dare to try to 
return by land. 



EXPLORATIONS AND INVASIONS 17 

When their boats were ready they launched them 
on the stream, and for seventeen days they floated 
down its waters. For fifty days more they sailed 
about the Gulf of Mexico, until they reached a small 
Spanish settlement, from which they were sent to the 
island of Cuba. 

They had gone out strong in numbers and splendid 
in dress and arms. They came back a few ragged and 
half-starved m.en, without gold to show, and with only 
battles and sufferings to tell of. And thus ended one 
of the greatest and proudest of the Spanish expeditions 
to America. 

Sir Francis Drake. — Now that we have said so mucii 
about the Spanish explorers, we must say something 
about a great English sailor, named Sir Francis Drake, 
who for nearly thirty years spent his life in fighting 
with the Spaniards on both sides of the ocean. Much 
of this was in the West Indies, but in 1572 he 
crossed the Isthmus of Darien, as Balboa had done 
many years before, and gazed on the waters of the 
Pacific Ocean. 

Drake in the Pacific. — The bold sailor made up his 
mind to sail in an English ship on that vast sea, and 
he went thither in 1578, saihng up the coast of Chili 
and Peru, and winning great treasure from the Span- 
ish ships and settlements. He went as far north as 
the coast of Oregon, and landed at Drake's Bay, north 
of San Francisco, where he claimed the country for the 
king of England and named it New Albion. Then he 
sailed across the Pacific, and around Southern Africa 
thus making a voyage around the earth, as one oi the 
ships of Magellan had done before him. 

2 



18 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

3. FRENCH AND ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS. 

The Northern Country. — Many years passed away 
before any white men came to live in the country 
which is now known as the United States. The 
Spaniards had many towns and rich colonies in the 
West Indies, in Mexico, and in South America, but 
the northern country was still left to the Indians. No 
one cared to settle on its shores. No gold or silver had 
been found there, and people in those days seemed to 
think there was nothing else worth having. Since 
then we have learned that the soil of the United States 
is far more valuable than all the gold and silver that 
the Spaniards found in America. 

A French Enterprise. — It was not till 1562 that any 
settlers came. Then some Frenchmen crossed the 
ocean and built a fort at what is now Port Royal, in 
South Carolina. They named this country Carolina, 
after Charles IX., the king of France. These men 
were known as Huguenots, or people of the Protestant 
religion, while the religion of France was the Cathohc. 
They had left their country because they were badly 
treated on account of their religious belief. 

Jean Ribault, who brought them, soon went back to 
France. After he left, the colony did not get on well. 
Most of the men were lazy and would not work, and the 
Indians, who did not like them, refused to give them 
food. Many of them died, and those who remained 
alive built a rude sort of vessel and sailed away for home. 

The Florida Colony. — Two years afterwards another 
party of Frenchmen came to America and built a fort 
near the mouth of the St. John's River, in Florida 



FRENCH AND ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS 19 

This colony was as idle as the other. The men spent 
their time in hunting for gold and fighting the Indians. 
They would not take the trouble to raise food from 
the earth, and they suffered from hunger till vessels 
came with food from France. Some of them turned 
pirates, and sailed away to rob the Spanish settlements. 

St. Augustine. — The Spaniards were very angry when 
they learned that the French had settled in Florida. 
They claimed this country as their own, and sent out a 
party to take possession and to drive out the new- 
comers. This party was led by a man named Menen- 
dez, who built a fort which he called St. Augustine. A 
town in time grew up there, and it is of interest to re- 
member that this town, laid out in 1565, is the oldest 
in the United States. The ruins of the old Spanish 
buildings may still be seen. The next oldest town is 
Santa Fe in New Mexico. 

The Massacre. — And now began those terrible wars 
of white men which have shed so much blood on the 
soil of this land. Up to that time all the fighting had 
been with the Indians, but now the whites began the 
dreadful work of killing one another. Menendez led his 
men through the woods and swamps of Florida to the 
French settlement. There they took Fort Carolina — 
the French fort — by surprise, and killed all the people 
they found in it, except a few who escaped to the woods. 

The Spaniards did a more cruel deed than this. A 
part of the French had gone to attack St. Augustine, 
but their vessel was wrecked on the coast, and the 
men barely saved their lives. They wandered half 
starved through the woods till they found themselves 
in sight of St. Augustine. 



20 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

Menendez told them that if they would come over 
the river into the town no harm should be done to 
them. But as fast as they came over he had their 
arms tied behind them, and he then set his soldiers on 
them and murdered them all. Four hundred men 
were slain in that awful massacre. Menendez had 
these words placed on the trees near by: ''I do this 
not as to Frenchmen, but as to Lutherans." It was 
religious hatred that made him do this cruel deed. 

The Massacre Revenged. — When the news of this deed 
of bloodshed came to France the people were full of 
anger. One soldier, named Dominique de Gourgues, 
resolved to be revenged. He sailed for Florida with 
three small ships, and took Fort Carolina by surprise, 
as the Spaniards had before taken it from the French. 
There were more than three hundred men in it, most 
of whom were killed. Only sixty were taken prisoners. 

De Gourgues wrote the following words, and placed 
them where all could see: *'I do this not to Spaniards, 
but to traitors, thieves, and murderers." Then he 
hanged all his prisoners, destroyed the fort, and sailed 
back to France. The murder of the Protestants had 
been terribly revenged. 

Sir Humphrey Gilbert. — It was not until after this 
time that the English first tried to make settlements in 
America. The earliest of them was Sir Humphrey Gil- 
bert, who came across the ocean in 1583 to found a 
colony. But a storm arose, and the leader and his 
vessel, with all on board, went to the bottom. One of 
his ships reached England with the news of his loss. 

Sir Walter Raleigh. — The next year a young man 
named Sir Walter Raleigh, half-brother to Gilbert, 



FRENCH AND ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS 



21 




Raleigh. 



sent an expedition to the New World, and in 1585 
he sent out seven ships, with a hundred persons 
on board, to make a settlement on Roanoke Island, 
on the coast of North Carolina. 

These people soon got into 
trouble with the Indians, and all 
returned to England in an English 
vessel that happened to stop at 
the island. They took with them 
the first tobacco that was ever 
seen in England. Sir Walter 
Raleigh is said to have been the 
first man who smoked tobacco in 
Europe. The story is told that a servant who came 
into his room while he was smoking thought that he 
was in flames, and threw a mug of beer in his face 
to put out the fire. 

The Lost Colony. — The next summer Raleigh sent 
another colony to Roanoke Island. A child, named 
Virginia Dare, was born in this colony, — the first 
English child born in America. There was war then 
between England and Spain, and it was three years 
before another vessel could be sent across the ocean. 
When it got to Roanoke Island the colony was gone. 
Not a man, woman, or child could be found. There 
were some letters cut in the bark of a tree, only this 
being left to show that white men had ever been there. 

Raleigh sent vessel after vessel to search for his lost 
colony, but no trace of it could ever be found. What 
became of the colonists no one will ever know. If the 
Indians knew they would not tell, and the secret died 
with them. 



22 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

Other Expeditions. — No other efforts were made to 
place colonies in the region of the United States till 
after the year 1600, more than a century after the dis- 
covery by Columbus. First among the new-comers 
was a captain named Bartholomew Gosnold, who 
brought out a colony to America in 1602; but he took 
it back again, because he was short of food and the 
men feared they might starve. 

The French succeeded in founding a colony before 
the English. In 1604, Poutrincourt, a Frenchman, 
planted a colony in Nova Scotia at a place which he 
called Port Royal. This place, which, under the name 
of Annapolis, became well known in after years, is 
on the coast of the Bay of Fundy. It was the first 
permanent French colony in America. 

Samuel de Champlain. — Before speaking of the Eng- 
lish and Dutch colonies that were formed soon after- 
wards we must say something about the doings of a 
Frenchman, named Samuel de Champlain, who was 
the first white man that had much to do with the 
Indians of the north. 

Ee went up the St. Lawrence River in 1603, and 
came again in 1608, when he founded the city of 
Quebec at a lofty place on the river bank. This old city 
still stands on the rocky hill where he placed it. It is 
a quaint, old-fashioned place, with many ancient 
houses, and travellers like to visit it. 

Champlain was a bold and active man and very fond 
of travel and adventure. He had the hope that he 
might find a way across the country by the rivers and 
lakes, and so reach China. But there were savage 
Indians iv his way. In what we know as the State of 



FRENCH AND ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS 23 

New York were the Iroquois tribes of Indians, or the 
''Five Nations" as they were afterwards called. Far- 
ther north were the Hurons and other tribes of the St. 
Lawrence, who were enemies of the Iroquois. 

Discovery of Lake Champlain. — In 1609 Champlain 
and some companions went in boats up the St. Law- 
rence and the St. John Rivers, while the Hurons and 
other tribes followed in their canoes. They were going 
to fight with their enemies, the Iroquois, and the 
French had promised to help them. It was not long 
before the boats came out on a beautiful lake which 
the eyes of white men had never seen before. It is 
called Lake Champlain, after its discoverer. 

Battle with the Indians. — On the shores of this lake 
they met the Iroquois, and a fierce battle began,— 
the first battle with the Indians in the northern part 
of the New AVorld. The Iroquois were brave warriors 
and fought boldly, but when Champlain and the two 
white men who were with him stood forward and 
fired their muskets they were filled with terror. 
They had never before seen anything of the kind. 
The noise seemed to them like thunder. Their chiefs 
began to fall dead, with nothing to show what had 
killed them. 

With a yell of fear the Indians fled. They left every- 
thing in their fright. Some of them were killed; more 
were taken prisoners. These the Hurons took back 
with them to torture and burn at the stake, which was 
their cruel way of treating captives taken in war. 

Champlain had many other adventures among the 
Indians. In 1614 he went south with a war party of 
HuronS;, and made an attack on a fort of the Iroquois. 



24 



THE ERA OF DISCOVERS 



The fight was a hard one, but the Hurons were driven 
off, and Champlain was twice wounded. 

The Revenge of the Iroquois. — The Iroquois took a 
terrible revenge on their enemies. Champlain, whom 
they were afraid of, died in 1635. In 1648 they made 




\, . 



Champlain and the Iroquois. 




an attack on the French in Canada, and killed a great 
many of them. The tribe of the Hurons was broken 
up and destroyed. For many years afterwards the 
French scarcely dared leave their forts for fear of the 
Indians, who in time got fire-arms of their own and 
ceased to fear those of the whites. 

The Iroquois consisted of five tribes, the Mohawks, 
the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the 



FRENCH AND ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS 



25 



Senecas. Afterwards another tribe, the Tuscaroras, 
joined them, and they became known as the ''Six 
Nations." They were very warhke and long after- 
wards took part in the wars of the colonists. 

Henry Hudson. — There w^as one other voyage of 
which we must speak. This was made by the Dutch, 
who then were a very active seafaring people, and 
thought they ought to have a share in the New World. 
So they sent across the ocean a vessel which had the odd 
name of the Half- 
Moon. Its captain 
was Henry Hudson, 
an Englishman. This 
was in the year 1609. 

The Half-Moon 
sailed along the coast 
until it reached a 
broad and fine bay. 
Up this bay it w^ent 
until it came into the 
great river which 
has ever since been known as Hudson River. Here 
some of the Indian chiefs came on board and received 
a fatal present from the hands of the captain. We 
have told how the tobacco of the Indians was taken to 
Europe. In return the white men brought brandy to 
the Indians. Hudson gave the chiefs some of this strong 
liquor to drink, and they became intoxicated. This was 
probably the first knowledge they had of that poison 
which afterwards killed more of them than the rifle. 

The Half-Moon sailed up the river as far as it could 
go. On coming back the Dutch were attacked by the 




- XJ^.i^Aftii. 



The Half-Moon in the Hudson. 



26 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

Indians, but some cannon were fired and the savages 
fled in the utmost terror. Hudson now sailed back 
to Europe with the story of the discovery he had 
made. He afterwards discovered Hudson Bay, which 
was also named after him. As he wanted to go farther 
his discontented men set him adrift upon its waters, 
and the adventurer was left to perish in misery. 

4. THE INDIANS. 

Who Owned the Land? — The Enghsh, the French, 
the Spanish, and the Dutch, as we have said, sent 
ships to America, and for a long time afterwards there 
were disputes and fights among them to decide who 
owned the land, and how it should be divided. Many 
good men now think that it did not belong to any of 
them, but to the old inhabitants of the country, and 
that the white men treated these very unjustly. 

Who were these old inhabitants? Everywhere that 
the white men had landed they had found tribes of 
red or copper-colored men, some of whom were gentle 
and friendly, others fierce and warlike. Before we go 
on with our story we must tell something about these 
people. 

The American Natives. — The Indians, as Columbus 
had named them, were found in every part of North 
and South America, and had been there for a long 
time. Some of them were partly civilized, but others 
were savages, and lived in a very rude manner. Most 
of the Indians of the country which we now know as 
the United States were savages and were a fierce and 
cruel people, who spent much of their time in killing 
one another. Many of them dwelt in the forests, and 



THE INDIANS 27 

lived by hunting. Others raised crops of Indian corn, 
and dwelt in towns and villages, and had passed from 
the savage into what is known as the barbarian state. 

The Mound=Builders. — Long ago, no one can tell how 
long, there dwelt in this region a people who seem to 
have been very active and industrious. We know this 
because much of their work remains. In some of the 
western States there are hills of earth, called by us 
mounds, which were made by the hands of men. Most 
of these are small, but some are very large. 

In these mounds have been found tools of stone and 
other substances, pots made of burnt clay, stone pipes, 
pieces of copper, and many other things. Some of these 
were made with great care and skill. The largest of the 
mounds must have taken years to build and required the 
labor of thousands of people. When white men reached 
the south they found mounds still in use by the Indians 
of that region, temples being built on some of them. 

Habits of the Indians. — The mound-builders belonged 
to an older time. When the whites first came most of 
the country in which we now live was covered with 
forests, in which savages hved and hunted. These peo- 
ple were of a copper color with black eyes and hair, 
and were divided into tribes. Some of them lived only 
by hunting; others raised corn and other vegetables. 
Most of them dwelt in little tents covered with skin or 
bark, and called '^ wigwams," but some tribes built 
large houses, in which many families Hved together. 

The Indians did not care much for their houses. 
They hked better to spend their time in the open air. 
They were very fond of roving about through the 
forests, hunting wild animals and fighting with one 



28 THE ERA OF DISCOVERS 

another. They dressed in the skins of these animals, 
ppinted their faces and bodies, and ornamented them- 
selves with feathers and the claws of wild beasts. All 
the hair of their head was shaved off, except one lock, 
called the scalp-lock. When one of them was killed 
in war this lock was used to pull off his scalp, or the 
skin of his head. The Indians were very proud of the 
scalps which they took in war. 

They were fond of fighting, and very cruel to their 
prisoners. It was their custom to tie these to a stake 
or tree, heap wood round them, and burn them to 
death. And they tortured them in every cruel way 
they could. The Indians fought with bows and arrows, 
and with stone hatchets called 'tomahawks." But 
after the whites came to America they got iron hatchets 
and fire-arms, and dressed themselves in blankets 
instead of skins as before. Some tribes built forts 
of timber, often in the midst of swamps. These were 
strong, and not easy to capture. 

Indian Home Life. — At home the women had to do 
all the work. The men were too proud to do much 
but hunt and fight. They were very expert in making 
stone pipes and weapons, and canoes of birch bark in 
which they paddled about the rivers. These canoes 
were very light. They could be carried long distances 
through the forests, and they floated lightly in the water. 
Fire was obtained by rubbing two sticks together until 
they became so hot as to break into a blaze.* 

The food of the Indians consisted of corn and a few 

♦Without fire civilization could not exist, so this method of 
making fire may be lool<:ed upon as one of the first steps towarda 
the high civilization which we now enjoy. 



THE INDIANS 



29 



sregetables they raised, and of the game they killed in the 
forests. They had tobacco, of which they were very fond, 
and which they soon taught the white men to smoke. 
In return the white men taught them to drink whisky, — 
a much worse gift than that of tobacco. Some writers 
think that whisky has killed more Indians than muskets. 




Indian Warriors at Rest and their Wives 
AT Work. 



Government. 

The tribes of the 
Indians were divided 
into smaller bodies, 
w^hich may be called 
clans. Each clan 
paid great respect to some animal, which it called its 
totem, such as the wolf, the tortoise, the bear, etc. The 
clans had chiefs whom they called sachems, who ruled 
them in peace, and other chiefs who ruled them in war. A 
number of such clans formed a tribe, and several tribes 
joined together formed a league or confederacy. As an 
example of these leagues may be named the Iroquois. 
Religion. — The religious ideas of the Indians were 
very simple. Each Indian thought that he was taken 



30 THE ERA OF DISCOVERY 

care of by the spirit of the animal that formed his 
totem. He had great respect for this animal, though 
he did not mind killing the totems of other Indians. 
Most of them believed in spirits of the winds and stars, 
and many of them thought that there was a Great 
Spirit; who ruled over all men and all thingSo 

Their priests they called *' medicine men." These 
were their doctors as well as priests, and did every- 
thing by charms and spells. Many of them may have 
been great rogues. The tribes had religious songs 
and dances, and many other ceremonies, some of which 
were strange and noisy, and some painful and cruel. 

For money the Indians used round pieces of sea-shells, 
in which they bored holes and strung them on strings. 
These they called wampum. They knew nothing about 
reading and writing, but used simple marks and signs 
by which they could tell one another many things. 

Their Sagacity. — The Indians were brave and bold 
and would do anything to kill those whom they hated. 
They had wonderful skill in tracking their enemies 
through the wilds and forests. Where white men 
could see nothing, the Indians could see the marks 
of footsteps on the dead leaves or the dry ground, and 
could follow a trail for many miles as easily as a dog 
can follow an animal by its scent. 

This made them very dangerous to the whites. They 
could travel very far in a day, and could go in a straight 
line through thick forests where the sun was not to 
be seen. Many white travellers were captured and 
killed by them. But in time some of the whites learned 
the Indian ways, and could follow a trail as well as 
these forest rovers. 



THE INDIANS 31 

The Southern Tribes. — In the country near the Gulf 
of Mexico the Indians were more civihzed than in the 
north. They had many towns or large villages, and 
their chiefs had much power. The sun was their god, 
and some of the tribes had temples, with numbers of 
priests and much ceremony. Farther west, in the Rocky 
Mountain region, were tribes which built great stone 
houses, with hundreds of rooms, large enough for a 
whole tribe to live in one house. 

Quarrels with the Whites. — The Indians at first were 
friendly to the whites. They gave them land and were 
willing to help them in any way they could. But it was 
not long before quarrels began. Sometimes the white 
men were in the wrong, and sometimes the Indians, but 
dreadful scenes followed. The Indians would march 
silently through the forests and fall on the settlements, 
burning the houses and killing the people, or taking 
them away as prisoners. The whites would attack the 
tribes in return, and kill all the Indians they could. 

But the whites were the stronger and drove the 
Indians back step by step, and took possession of 
nearly the whole country. The savages now own only 
a small portion of the great continent which was once 
all their own. But they are forced to live in peace, 
and they are better off than when most of their time 
was spent in war and bloodshed. 



PART L— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

1. What was known of the world four hundred years ago/ 
What was thought would happen to vessels that sailed out of 
sight of land? What is the mariner's compass? What journey 
did Marco Polo make? What did the Northmen discover? Who 



32 THE ERA OF DISCOVERS 

was Christopher Columbus? How did he think Asia could be 
reached? What troubles did he have? When did he sail on liB 
voyage of discovery? Why were the sailors afraid? What made 
them think they were near land? On what day was land dis- 
covered? What were the inhabitants like? Why were they called 
Indians? Describe the landing of Columbus. What stories were 
told by the sailors when they returned to Spain? How was 
Columbus received ? What was his history afterwards? 

2. Who was John Cabot? Describe his voyage. What did 
Sebastian Cabot discover? What did the fishermen do? Describe 
the voyage of Verrazano. What did Cartier do? Who was Ponce 
de Leon? What did he discover? What did Balboa discover? 
Who made the first voyage around the globe? What conquests 
were made by Cortez and Pizarro? Where did Narvaez go? 
What did De Soto seek? Where did he journey? Describe his 
death and burial. What was done by Sir Francis Drake? 

3. Who first settled in the United States? Describe the Florida 
colony. When did the Spaniards found St. Augustine? What 
did Menendez do at Fort Carolina? How did he treat the ship- 
wrecked Frenchmen? What did De Gourges do? When did Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert come to America? Where did Sir Walter 
Raleigh plant a colony? Tell how tobacco was first taken to 
Europe. What became of Raleigh's colony? Wlien and where 
was the first permanent French colony formed? When did Cham- 
plain found Quebec? What lake did he discover? Describe his 
battle with the Iroquois. How did the Iroquois revenge them- 
selves? What river did Henry Hudson discover? How did he act 
with the Indian chiefs? 

4. What kind of people were found in America? Who were 
the Mound-builders? What relics did they leave? What were 
the Indians like? How did they live? How did they treat their 
prisoners? How did they fight? How did they live in their homes? 
How were they govsrned? What was the character of their reli- 
gion? ^¥hat did they use for money? What is said of their 
sagacity? Were the southern tribes more civilized than the north- 
ern? WTiat did they worship? How did they receive the whites? 
How have the whites treated them? 



PART II. 

THE ENGLISH COLONIES. 



1. VIRGINIA. 

The English Companies. — In 1606 two companies 
were formed in England to make settlements in 
America. One of these, which was called the London 
Company, had a grant from the king of the southern 
part of the country, and the other, the Plymouth 
Company, was granted the northern part. At that 
time the whole country between the French settle- 
ments in the north and the Spanish settlements in the 
south was known as Virginia, being named after Queen 
EHzabeth, the Virgin Queen of England. Now, only a 
small portion of this broad region is called Virginia. 

The First Colonists. — Both companies sent out 
colonies in 1607. One of these, sent by the Plymouth 
Company, settled on the coast of Maine; but the 
colonists were not satisfied, and went back the next 
year. The other, sent by the London Company, was 
told to land on Roanoke Island, where Raleigh's lost 
colony had been; but a storm drove the vessels into 
Chesapeake Bay. Here the colonists discovered a 
beautiful river, which they named the James, after 
the King of England. They landed at a point some 
distance up the river, and formed a settlement which 
they called Jamestown. 

The Jamestown Settlement. — The Jamestown colony 
was made up of people who did not like to work. Some 

3 33 



34 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



of the men thought they could cross the country to the 
Pacific Ocean. Others spent their time hunting for gold. 
They found a yellow substance which they thought was 
gold, and sent a ship-load of it to England. But it was 
nothing but iron pyrites, or '^fool's gold," and of no 
value whatever; so the gold hunters, who had fancied 
themselves rich, soon found themselves poor again. 




The Landing at Jamestown. 
From an old print. 



Captain John Smith. — By good luck the colony had 
with it a man who was worth more to it than a mine 
of gold. This was Captain John Smith, a celebrated 
soldier, who had been in wars in Europe, and had gone 
through many strange adventures. Captain Smith 
was a very active man. He himself went to work and 
kept the colonists at work with him cutting down trees 
and building houses. Those who would not work were 
given nothing to eat. Some of them swore very much, 
but he soon cured them of this. When night came he 



VIRGINIA 35 

brought up the swearers and had a can of cold water 
poured down their sleeves for every time they had 
sworn during the day. We may imagine that laziness 
and swearing were quickly broken up in that colony. 
Captain Smith spent much of his time in exploring 
the bay and the country. On one of these journeys he 
was taken prisoner by the Indians, who killed his 
companions. They were about to kill him, too, but 
he diverted them by showing them a small compass 
which he had with him. The 
movements of the magnetic 
needle seemed to them the work 
of magic, so they let him live, and 
brought him before their great 
chief, Powhatan. He surprised 
them still more by writing a 
letter to his friends and receiv- 
ing an answer from them. The 
Indians could not understand how 

John Smith. 

a piece of paper could talk. When 

they found that Smith's friends understood what was 

on it they thought the paper must have spoken to them. 

Pocahontas. — But Powhatan did not like the English, 
and he decided that his prisoner should be put to death. 
Captain Smith tells us that he was laid on the ground, 
with his head on a stone, and that a warrior had lifted 
a club to dash out his brains, when a young Indian 
girl named Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief, 
rushed in and begged her father not to kill him. So 
his life was spared. 

Pocahontas afterwards married an Englishman 
named Rolfe, and went with him to England. She 




36 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 




Pocahontas. 



did not live long after she reached there. Captain 
Smith had other adventures with the Indians and 
much trouble with the colonists. In 1609 he was badly 

hurt by the explosion of a 
bag of gunpowder, and went 
back to England. He never 
returned to Virginia. 

The Starving Time. — As 
soon as Captain Smith left 
the colony everything went 
wrong. Nobody would work; 
they ate up all their provi- 
sions; and the Indians, who 
were made angry by their 
acts, would not bring them 
any food. A terrible time fol- 
lowed. The foolish people soon found themselves 
starving. There were nearly five hundred of them 
when Smith left, but in six months only sixty were 
alive. In a very brief time not a soul of them would 
have been living if a vessel had not come with 
provisions. This period was long known as ''the 
starving time." 

A new governor, Lord Delaware, came out in this 
vessel. He was soon followed by Governor Dale, a 
stern old soldier, but a man of good sense. So far no 
one had been given a farm of his own, but all had to 
work for the whole community. The new governor 
divided the land up into farms and distributed these 
among the people, and when the colonists found they 
could work for themselves and own the proceeds of theii 
own labors, they soon became more industrious. 



VIRGINIA 37 

Tobacco Culture. — In 1612 the colonists began to 
raise tobacco. Much of the soil was given to this new 
crop, and so little corn was raised that for a time there 
was danger again of want of food. In 1619 a Dutch 
ship came up the James with twenty negroes on board. 
These were sold to the colonists, and were the first 
slaves brought to America. 

Wives for the Settlers. — The negroes were not the 
only human beings that were sold to the colonists. 
Until this time the colony had consisted only of men; 
but now, young women were sent over from England and 
those who wanted wives paid for them. The price for 
a wife was one hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco. 
Sixty more women were sent afterwards, and the price 
rose to one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco. 

The Indian Massacre. — Two years afterwards, in 
1622, when much of the country around Jamestown 
had been settled, the Indians, who feared that all their 
land would be taken from them, formed a plan to kill 
all the white people in the colony. They pretended to 
be very friendly, and brought deer and fish and other 
things to sell. But suddenly they drew out their 
weapons and began to kill the settlers. Men, women, 
and children were cut to pieces, and in one morning 
three hundred and forty-nine persons were slain. 

Jamestown was warned in time, and was saved, but 
very few of the whites were left alive in the outer 
settlements. A fierce war followed. The Indians were 
shot down wherever they were seen. At one time the 
English offered peace to them, and then rushed on 
them when they were at work in their corn-fields, and 
killed a great many of them. 



38 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

Another Indian massacre took place in 1644, after 
which the red men were driven far back into the 
country, and did not give any trouble for many years. 

Bacon's Rebellion. — During these years, and for a 
long time afterwards, the people of Virginia had trouble 
with their governors. They were not permitted to 
manage their own affairs, and much bitter feeling 
arose. One governor, named Berkeley, was such a 
tyrant that the people would no longer submit to him. 

In 1676 the Indians were again at war with the 
whites, and a young man named Nathaniel Bacon 
raised a company and drove them away. The gov- 
ernor said that Bacon was a traitor, because he had 
raised his company without permission. This made 
the people so angry that they came to Bacon's help, 
and fighting took place. The governor was driven out 
of Jamestown, and the town itself was burned to the 
ground. Nothing of Jamestown now remains except 
the ruined walls of an old church. 

Soon after this Bacon died. Berkeley now got into 
power again and began to revenge himself by hanging 
his enemies. More than twenty of the leaders of the 
people were hanged. When the king heard of this he 
was very much displeased; he ordered Berkeley to come 
home, and sent out governors of a different kind to the 
colony. The king said, " That old fool has hung more 
men in that naked country than I did for the murder of 
my father." He reproved Berkeley so severely that 
the old tyrant died of a broken heart. Other troubles 
arose, but for the next hundred years Virginia grew 
and prospered, and many of its people became rich 
and honored. 



THE PILGRIMS AND THE PURITANS 



39 



2. THE PILGRIMS AND THE PURITANS. 

The Pilgrims. — At the time that Captain John 
Smith was having his adventures with the Indians 
in Virginia, and Champlain was fighting with the 
Iroquois in New York, some EngUsh people had found 




Thk Departure of the Pilgrims. 

that they could not live in peace at home. They 
thought that every man ought to have a right to 
read the Bible for himself and form his own opinion 
about it. But the government said that they must 
believe what the Church of England taught. As they 
could not do this, they were treated badly by the 
government; so they went to Holland and lived there 
for a number of years. 



40 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

Then they made up their minds to cross the ocean 
and settle in America. They were afraid that if they 
stayed in Holland their children might forget their 
language and become in all things like the Dutch. 
One hundred and two of them set sail from England 
in a little vessel called the Mayflower. They proposed 
to land somewhere on the New Jersey coast, but storms 
made them seek shelter in the bay back of Cape Cod. 

The Landing of the Pilgnms. — It was then the month 
of December of the year 1620. The weather was cold 
and the ground was covered with snow, but the people 
were tired of the sea and they went ashore at a place 
which had been named Plymouth by Captain John 
Smith, who had explored that coast several years 
before. On reaching the shore they fell on their knees 
and thanked God for having brought them in safety to 
this new land. These people called themselves Pil- 
grims, because they had left their homes and crossed 
the ocean on account of their religion, like the old-time 
pilgrims to the Holy Land. 

The First Winter. — The Pilgrims were not idle, like 
the men of the Jamestown colony. They went to work 
at once to build a house to shelter them and their 
goods. And they formed a government of their own, 
in which every man was to have a vote and to be the 
equal of every other man. But they had great hard- 
ships to endure, and nearly half of them died before 
spring. 

The Plymouth Colony. — When the winter was gone 
the Pilgrims did not spend their time hunting for gold 
or wandering about the country. They kept on build- 
ing until they had a house for each family, and also 



THE PILGRIMS AND THE PURITANS 41 

began to till the soil. The Indians were friendly, and 
showed them how to plant corn. They had with them 
a military man named Captain Miles Standish, but he 
was a very different person from Captain John Smith. 
He was an old soldier who had joined the colonists to 
do their fighting for them, if any was necessary, — a 
little man, very short, but of a hot temper, — and it was 
not long before he began to make the Indians afraid of 
him. He was a bold and daring warrior, and the Pil- 
grims were glad to have a man like Captain Standish 
with them. 

The Plymouth colony was not like any of the others 
formed in America. The people had not been sent out 
by any company, and had no masters beyond the seas. 
They were free to serve God and to take care of them- 
selves in their own w^ay. They elected a governor and 
other officers, and formed a little republic of their own. 
They suffered from the cold and from want of food, 
but the fishing was good and there were plenty of 
clams, so they managed to live. The land was soon 
divided into farms, and every man worked for himself, 
and before long enough corn was raised to give them 
all food. 

Canonicus. — The Indians at first were friendly, but 
some of them became uneasy when they saw that the 
white men intended to stay in their country. So 
Canonicus, the chief of the tribe of Narragansetts, 
sent them a bundle of arrows with a snake-skin tied 
around them. This meant that if the whites did not 
go away the Indians would make war upon them. 

The governor took the snake-skin and filled it with 
powder and bullets; then he sent it back to Canonicus. 



42 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

The savageF were scared when they saw what had been 
sent them, for they knew something of what the bullets 
could do. They were afraid to receive it, and it passed 
from hand to hand and finally came back to the gov- 
ernor at Plymouth. Thus there was no war at that 
time. In 1623 the Indians formed a conspiracy to 
murder the settlers; but Captain Standish discovered 
it and killed the ringleaders. After that the Indians 
kept quiet for years. 

The Massachusetts Bay Colony. — Plymouth was part 
of the country which the king had granted to the 
Plymouth Company, so that the Pilgrims came under 
the charter of this company. But they continued to 
govern themselves in their own way, and the company 
let them alone, for it was glad to have a settlement on 
its land. Other people came out from time to time. In 
1628 and 1629 a considerable number came from Eng- 
land and settled at a place on the shore of Massachu- 
setts Bay, which they called Salem. 

The next year eight hundred more came. There 
were now about a thousand persons in the colony of 
Massachusetts Bay. These were not all poor people, 
like those at Plymouth. Some of them were rich, 
and many of them were educated. As in the case 
of the Pilgrims, religious trouble had brought them 
over the ocean. They were called Puritans and had 
been badly treated because they wished to purify 
the Church of England, which they said had become 
corrupt. 

The Charter. — The king had given them a charter in 
which they were granted the right to govern them- 
selves They did not leave this charter in England, 



THE PILGRIMS AND THE PURITANS 43 

for they did not wish to be ruled by a company in 
London, but they brought it across the ocean with 
them. This was a bold step. The reign of hberty in 
America began with that charter. 

These colonists had much to endure. Many of them 
died. But there were no idle men among them, and 
they planted corn instead of seeking for gold, so that 
they were soon comfortable. Settlements were made 
all around Massachusetts Bay — Boston, Roxbury, 
Charlestown, and other places — following Salem. The 
colony grew much faster than that of Plymouth. 

Representative Government. — As we have said, the 
government was at first in the hands of all the people. 
They came together in the churches and elected their 
officers, and decided any question that came before 
them. But in 1634 this was no longer easy to do. 
The people had increased till there were more than 
three thousand of them. These were settled at twenty 
different places along the sea-shore. They could not all 
come together to decide questions, and found it neces- 
sary to choose persons to act for them. These met 
together at Boston, where they made laws and elected 
officers. The first Assembly of this kind in America 
had been formed in Virginia in 1619, but it did not 
have the power of the Boston Assembly, which made 
all the laws of the colony. Jamestown had a governor 
sent out by the king, but the Puritans were under a 
governor elected by themselves, not one sent from 
England. 

Other Colonists.— The Puritans continued to come 
across the ocean, so that by 1640 there were about 
twenty thousand people in New England. These were 



44 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

widely spread throughout the country. Some of them 
settled in Connecticut and there were settlements in 
New Hampshire and Maine. The Dutch built a fort on 
the bank of the Connecticut River, but thev were 
driven away by the English. 

Roger Williams. — And now we have to tell of some 
very wrong doings of the Puritans. They had come to 
America because they were not allowed to worship God 
in peace at home; but they soon began to say that 
nobody should worship God in New England except in 
their way. One minister, named Roger WilHams, 
declared that the magistrates had no right to tell a 
man what his religion should be. He said also that the 
white men had no claim to the land unless they paid 
the Indians for it. 

The Puritans thought that this was dangerous talk, 
and declared that no man should preach such doctrines 
in their churches. Williams would not be silent, so 
they drove him out of the colony. He went into the 
forests, where the Indians took care of him. At 
length he reached Narragansett Bay, and crossed it in 
an Indian canoe to a place which he called Providence. 
The Indians loved the young exile, and Canonicus, 
their chief, gave him a large tract of land. 

Religious Liberty. — There were other persons besides 
Roger Williams who could not live in peace with the 
Puritans. Many of these followed him. In the settle- 
ment which they formed every one was allowed to 
hold such rehgious opinions ar? he pleased. It was one 
of the first places in the world in which there was full 
religious liberty and in which no man was persecuted 
for his opinions. 



THE PILGRIMS AND THE PURITANS 



45 



Rhode Island. — Some of the new settlers bought an 
island from the Indians, which was called Rhode 
Island. This afterwards became the name of the 
State. A charter was given to the colony, and its 
people slowly grew in numbers. They were so afraid of 
tyrants that when Roger Williams refused to be gov- 



w^ 




Roger Williams Bringing the Charter to Providencs. 

ernor the colony went without one for forty years. 
Williams was very just and kind to the Indians, and 
they looked on him as their best friend. 

The Quakers. — But the Puritans soon did worse 
things than to drive Roger Williams into the wilder- 
ness. When it was known in England that there was 
a colony in America formed by people who wished 
to worship God in peace and freedom, others besides 
the Puritans made haste to come to this free land. 
Among these were a number of the Friends, or Quakers 



46 I'HE ENGLISH COLONIES 

as people called them, who had been very harshly 
treated in England. 

Several of these came to Plymouth and Salem, but 
they soon found that they were no better off in Amer- 
ica than in England. They would not go to war, or 
pay taxes, or attend the Puritan churches, and they 
would not go away from the colony when they were 
ordered to do so. Some of them grew so excited as to 
be half crazy, and would come into the meeting-house 
on Sundays, with clothes made of sackcloth, and with 
ashes on their heads, and would disturb the services. 
They did other things still more unpleasant. 

The Persecution. — As they would not leave the 
colony, the Puritans began to treat them in a cruel 
manner. Some of them were whipped in the streets, 
and others were branded with hot irons. Four of them 
were hanged. And not only the excitable ones, but 
the quiet and well-behaved ones, were treated with 
great severity. The Puritans have been much blamed 
for this cruelty. They had left England because men 
would not let them act in religious matters as they 
pleased, and now they were not willing to let others 
worship in their own way. But they could not drive 
the Quakers out by severity, and they finally had to 
let them alone. 

The Salem Witchcraft. — It was not long before the 
Puritans began to persecute another set of people. In 
those days all ignorant persons and some learned ones 
believed in witches. It was thought that certain 
people had the power to bewitch and hurt others by a 
sort of magic. That was the belief all over Europe, 
and thousands of persons were put to death as witches. 



THE PILGRIMS AND THE PURITANS 47 

Some poor persons in Salem were accused of being 
witches, and a court was held to try them. Very 
strange things were said to have been done, and fifty 
of them were declared guilty. Twenty of these were- 
hanged. The excitement spread and finally people of 
high standing were accused of witchcraft. This made- 
the wiser citizens fear that there was something; 
wrong in the public belief. When respectable per- 
sons were thus brought to trial, the judges said 
that such persons could not be witches, and set 
them free. The foolish notion died away as quickljr 
as it had risen. Sensible people became very much 
ashamed of themselves for having believed in such 
folly; and they could not easily forget that they 
had put to death innocent persons for a crazy delu- 
sion. The excitement had continued from 1688 to. 
1693. 

Connecticut. — There were other colonies in New- 
England than those spoken of. The beautiful andi 
fertile valley of the Connecticut River attracted settlers,. 
a party of whom came overland in 1635 and founded 
Hartford and other towns, while another party came- 
by sea and founded Saybrook, at the river's mouth. 
In 1638 a large colony from England settled at New- 
Haven, and soon added other towns, which combined, 
to form what was known as the New Haven colony. 
The Connecticut colony had its capital at Hartford, 
and in 1662 Charles II. granted it a very liberal 
charter, which made it almost an independent govern- 
ment. Towns were also founded in Maine and New- 
Hampshire, but these were long under the control of 
Massachusetts, 



48 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

Mode of Government. — All the New England colo- 
nies followed Massachusetts in their mode of govern- 
ment. The English kings had left the colonists to act 
as they pleased, and there was no one in England that 
had any right to interfere with them, so the people 
were as free as if they had had no connection with 
England. In the other colonies there were governors 
sent out by the king, the companies, or the proprietors; 
but the people of New England chose their own gov- 
ernors and made their own laws. 

A League of Colonies. — We have already told what 
their government was like. But in 1643 a new step in 
political conditions was made. There were then five 
colonies — Plymouth, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, and New Haven — and all of these except 
Rhode Island joined themselves into a league, or con- 
federac}^, each colony choosing men to represent it. 
This was something like the present government of the 
United States, the meeting of deputies from the col- 
onies being like a little Congress. New England had 
become like a free republic at that early date. 

The Charters Revoked. — But the people of New Eng- 
land were not left at ease after Charles II. became king. 
He did not wish them to have so much liberty, and he 
declared that the charter of Massachusetts no longer 
held good. 

Soon afterwards he died, but the next king, James 
II., was still more severe. He said that all the New 
England colonies were his, that he would make the 
laws and levy the taxes, and that the people should 
have no voice in the government. He sent out Sir 
Edmund Andros as royal governor, and demanded 
that all the charters should be given up. 



INDIAN WARS OF NEW ENGLAND 49 

The Lost Charter. — But the new governor did not 
succeed very well in this purpose. When he came to 
Hartford the Assembly met to decide whether they 
should obey his order and give up their charter. This 
important paper was laid on the table. It was even- 
ing and candles were lighted. Suddenly the candles 
all went out and the room was left in darkness. When 
they were relighted the charter was gone. It is said 
that one of the members flung his cloak over the 
candles and in the darkness carried off the charter, 
which he hid in a hollow tree. This tree was long 
known as the Charter Oak. 

A Change of Kings. — While the governor was in 
Boston news reached there that the people of England 
had risen against the king and driven him from the 
throne. So the governor was imprisoned, the charter 
was brought out again, and the people took the gov- 
ernment once more into their own hands. But it 
was not long before the new king sent them a new 
governor, and they lost much of their old freedom. 

3. INDIAN WARS OF NEW ENGLAND. 

English and Indians. — In time the settlers of New 
England began to have trouble with the Indians. 
Shortly after the Pilgrims landed a chi.ef had come to 
them, with the words, "Welcome, Englishmen." He 
had learned these words from some of those people who 
had crossed the ocean in search of fish. But before 
long this friendly feeling passed away. The English 
did not treat the Indians well. Captain Standish was 
very stern and severe with them, and killed several of 
them. The settlers went farther and farther into 

4 



50 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



the land, and new ones came over the ocean in such 
numbers that the red men began to fear that all their 
country would be taken from them. 

The Pequot War. — Yet it was not in Massachusetts, 
but in Connecticut, in 1637, that the first fighting took 
place. Here there was a fierce and warlike tribe called 
the Pequots, who became very angry on seeing the 




The Battle with the Pequots. 



white men settling on their lands. They began to kill 
the whites whenever they found them alone. The 
English killed some of them in return, and then a 
deadly war began. No white man could leave the 
fort without danger of being murdered by the savages. 
The settlers soon decided to put an end to this. 
So they got together a party of soldiers and sent them 
against the Pequot fort. There were ninety white men 
and several hundred friendly Indians, led by Captain 



INDIAN WARS OF NEW ENGLAND 51 

John Mason. The Indian fort was near where the 
town of Stonington is now built. It was made of 
trunks of trees, about twelve feet high, set close 
together in the ground. The Indian allies were left 
outside while the English forced their way into the 
fort and set fire to the wigwams of the Pequots. Then 
the fight began in the smoke and flame, and nearly all 
the Pequots were killed, while only two white men 
were slain. 

There were some Pequots outside the fort, but these 
were sought for and the most of them killed. This bat- 
tle so frightened the Indians that there was very little 
trouble with them in New England for nearly forty 
years afterwards. 

King Philip's War. — The next war with the Indians 
began in 1675. The tribe of the Wampanoags had 
always been friendly with the whites; but the old 
sachem died and his son, named Philip, became sachem. 
He hated the whites, and got some of the other tribes 
to join him in a war against them. One of these tribes 
was the Narragansett, of Rhode Island, which until 
now had been kept friendly by Roger Williams. 

The war that followed was a terrible one. The 
Indians were no longer afraid to touch powder and 
bullets. They had thrown aside the bow and arrow 
and taken the musket for their weapon, and they now 
attacked the settlements in all directions. They drove 
off the cattle, destroyed the crops, and burned the 
houses, and many of the white people were murdered. 
Several towns were taken by the Indians and burned, 
and the whole country was thrown into a state of 
terror 



52 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

Defeat of the Narragansetts. — But the killing of a 
few hundred persons could not drive the white people 
from the country, for by this time there were about 
sixty thousand of them in New England. They made 
up their minds to punish the Indians and put an end 
to the war. So a force of fifteen hundred men was 
sent against the Narragansetts, who had a strong fort 
in the centre of a great swamp. They thought they 
were safe there; but the soldiers got into their fort, 
killed a thousand of them, and forced the others to 
flee for their lives. This was in the winter, and many 
more of the savages died from cold and hunger, as 
they had no place of shelter and very little to eat. 

Death of Philip. — This dreadful affair broke the 
power of the Indians; but parties of them wandered 
about the settlements, and killed men, women, and 
children wherever they could. The people grew furi- 
ous at this, and hunted the savages like wild beasts. 
Philip and his followers were chased from place to 
place. In August, 1676, they went to Mount Hope, 
Rhode Island, and here they were surprised b}^ a 
party of soldiers and of Indians who had joined the 
whites. Philip started up to flee for his life, but he 
was shot by an Indian and fell dead. 

This ended the war. All danger from the Indians 
was at an end, except in Maine and New Hampshire, 
where the settlements were weak. The whites had 
suffered terribly. About six hundred of them had been 
murdered. Twelve or thirteen towns, with about six 
hundred houses, had been burned. But the tribes 
were broken up, and many of the Indians were sent 
to the West Indies to be sold as slaves. 



INDIAN WARS OF NEW ENGLAND 53 

The First French and Indian Wars. — The next troubles 
in New England were stirred up by the French, who 
began a war in Europe with the English in 1689, 
and another in 1702. The French and Enghsh in 
America were not satisfied to let all the fighting be done 
on the other side of the ocean, but thought that they 
must do what they could to kill one another, though 
the war did not concern them in any way. Many of 
the northern Indians took the side of the French, and 
came down from Canada to attack the English settle- 
ments. Farm-houses and villages were burned, and 
hundreds of the people were killed or carried off as 
prisoners. The whole country was kept in a state of 
terror for years. 

Mrs. Dustln's Escape. — We must tell the story of 
one of these prisoners. This was a brave woman named 
Mrs. Dustin, who was carried off from the town of 
Haverhill, m Massachusetts, with her baby, her nurse, 
and a young boy. The Indians soon killed the baby, 
but they took the others for many miles through the 
forest. Mrs. Dustin found out that the Indians were 
going to torture and kill them at the end of their 
journey, so she resolved to try to escape. They were 
now on an island in the Merrimac River, and that 
night the Indians lay down to sleep, not dreaming 
that they were in any danger from their prisoners. 

There were twelve of these Indians, and they had no 
fear of two women and a boy. But Mrs. Dustin told 
her companions what she wanted them to do, and 
while the savages lay asleep the three prisoners took 
possession of their tomahawks and began killing them. 
They worked so quickly that ten of the Indians were 



54 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

killed. The other two, a woman and a boy, ran for 
their lives into the forest. The brave woman took 
their canoe and floated down the river till she got 
safely to her home again. There is a statue of Mrs. 
Dustin now in Haverhill, and a monument on the Mer- 
rimac River at the point where the Indians were slain. 

The People of Deerfield. — There were many more 
horrible events in these wars. Some large villages, 
such as Schenectady in New York, and Deerfield in 
Massachusetts, were taken and burned, and the people 
murdered or carried off as prisoners. It was a terribly 
cold winter, yet many of the people of Deerfield were 
made to walk through the woods to Canada with very 
little clothing and scarcely anything to eat. There they 
were sold to the French as slaves. 

Pioneer Life. — The pioneers of America, as may be 
seen, led a life of great danger and terror, very differ- 
ent from anything that is known here to-day. The 
men worked in the fields with their rifles by their 
sides, and each house was built like a strong fort, for 
no one knew at what moment the savages might burst 
with a yell from the woods and fall on them with mus- 
ket and tomahawk. These were times such as can never 
come again in this peaceful country. 

4. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PURITANS. 

To tell what laws a people made, what wars they 
fought, and what things they did is not to tell their 
whole story. To tell how they lived, what their 
houses and churches were like, what work they per- 
formed, and how they enjoyed themselves is quite 
as important and interesting. So it is our purpose 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PURITANS 55 

now to say something about the manners and cus- 
toms of the people of New England. 

Puritan Houses. — In the early period of this country 
there were none of the great and beautiful buildings 
we see to-day. Most of the houses were log huts, only 
one story high, with very steep roofs which were cov- 
ered with thatch. But there were a few houses made 
of wood and brick and some of stone, two stories high. 
As time went on the houses became larger, but the 
largest of them would seem small to us. 

In these houses were large fireplaces, built of stone, 
in some of which logs four feet long could be burned. 
The chimneys at first were made of boards, or of sticks 
smeared with clay. There was very little glass for the 
windows, and oiled paper was much used instead. 
When glass was used it was made in small and thick 
diamond-shaped panes, which were set in frames of 
lead. Furniture was not plentiful, and was very rude 
in shape and finish, with none of the beauty and art of 
modern furniture. There were few clocks, and most 
people had to tell the time from the sun. For this pur- 
pose the houses were built so as to face exactly south. 
When the sun shone squarely into the rooms the people 
knew that it was noon and time for dinner. 

Dress. — The Puritans dressed very differently from 
what we do now. The men wore knee-breeches and 
short cloaks, with ruffs about their necks, and steeple- 
crowned hats; the wealthy ones had rich belts, gold 
and silver buttons, and high boots rolled over at the 
top for great occasions. The women wore dresses of 
plain homespun during the week, and silk hoods, lace 
neckerchiefs, and other finery on Sunday. 



56 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

But the law required that everybody should dress 
to suit his or her station in life. Workingmen wore 
breeches of leather or coarse goods, and red or green 
baize jackets, with somewhat finer clothes for Sunday; 
while the gentleman wore his robe of silk or velvet, with 
lace ruffles at his wrists and gold lace on his cloak. 
A gold-headed cane and a gold or silver snuff-box were 
thought necessary to a gentleman. But those who 
wore fine clothes could be punished unless they could 
prove that they were rich enough to afford them. 

Titles and Luxuries. — The titles of Mr. and Mrs. 
were not so common as they are to-day. They were 
used only for clergymen and magistrates, and for 
people of very high position. Everybody else, except 
a servant, was called Good-man, or Good-wife. Much 
respect was shown to persons of education. 

As the colonies grew richer great display was made 
by wealthy people. Fine houses were built, elegant 
furniture and clothing were imported, and there was 
much show among people of wealth. 

Food and Amusements. — Food was by no means to 
be had in as great variety as it is now. There was no 
way to bring fruits from other parts of the world, 
and no one knew how to preserve vegetables and 
meats for the winter in the way that this is now done. 
Corn meal and milk, or pork and beans, were common 
food, while bread was generally made of rye and 
Indian meal. Tea and coffee were not used, but much 
beer and cider were drunk. Amusements were very 
simple. No one was allowed to dance, or to play 
cards, and there was not much music, while such a 
thing as a theatre was unknown. 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PURITANS 57 



Laws and Penalties. — The laws were very severe. 
There were whipping-posts, where men and women 
were often whipped in pubHc for doing things which 
are now not considered crimes. There were also stocks, 
or wooden frames which could be locked around the neck 
or the ankles, in which offend- 
ers were fastened and left to the 
scorn of the public. A woman 
who was a common scold might 
be punished by being ducked in a 
stream or pond, or by having a 
split stick fastened on her tongue 
or a gag put into her mouth. In 
some cases the offender was 
made to stand on a stool in the 
church with the name of his 
offence written on a paper which 
was pinned on his breast. 

Town Meetings. — The people, 
as we have already said, made 
their own laws. To do this they 
came together in town meetings 
and talked over public affairs. If a vote had to be 
taken, corn and beans were used to vote with. A 
grain of corn meant a vote in favor of the measure; 
a bean w^as a vote against it. The town meetings were 
Intended onlv to discuss local affairs; those of the whole 
colony were settled by the governor and the Assembly. 

Church=Qoing. — In religious matters the Puritans 
were very strict. Everybody was expected to attend 
church, and those who failed to do so were punished. 
On Sunday morning the sound of a drum, or perhaps 




Stocks, Whipping-Post, and 
Pillory. 



58 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



the blowing of a horn or ringing of a bell, would call 
the people to worship. The meeting-house was Hke 
a small fort, as it had a fence of strong stakes driven 
into the ground around it. Often a cannon or two 
would be placed near the church, or perhaps on its 
roof, while the men walked to church with their guns 
over their shoulders, and kept them within easy reach 
during the service. 




Puritans Going to Church. 

Fear of the Indians. — It was fear of the Indians that 
made the people so cautious. No one knew at what 
moment the dreadful war-whoop might sound, and a 
troop of blood-thirsty savages rush into the town. In 
such a case the meeting-house could be turned at once 
into a fort, where the men might fight for the lives of 
themselves and their families. 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PURITANS 59 

Within the Church. — The worshipers did not sit 
together as now, but the old people occupied one part 
of the church, the young men another, and the young 
women a third. The boys sat on the steps of the 
pulpit and in the gallery. No one was allowed to go 
to sleep in those old Puritan churches. The constable 
was always on hand to keep them awake. He carried 
a staff that had the foot of a hare on one end and a 
hare's tail on the other. If a woman went to sleep, 
the hare's tail was brushed gently over her face; but 
if a boy was caught nodding, the hare's foot came clown 
on his pate with a sharp rap. Yet it must have been 
hard to keep awake, for the sermons were sometimes 
three or four hours long, and no doubt often very dry 
and tiresome. 

Industries. — The people of New England lived on 
what they could raise from the soil. But there were 
some things manufactured, such as hats, paper, shoes, 
furniture, and farming tools. Most people dressed in 
homespun goods, and the spinning-wheel was kept 
busy in the houses. Money was scarce, and for a while 
bullets were used for farthings. The wampum of the 
Indians and beaver skins and corn were also used for 
money; but the colonists began to make silver coins 
in 1652. 

Vessels. — Many vessels were built. The first of 
those built in Massachusetts was called The Blessing 
of the Bay. In time the New England people had a 
large trade along the coast, and sent vessels for whales 
into the icy seas of the north. 

Military Customs. — Every man and boy past the age 
of sixteen had to act as a soldier, and they were obliged 



60 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

to meet together and go through mihtary exercises at 
certain periods. The danger from the Indians was so 
great that this was necessary, and in the frontier 
settlements no farmer went into his field, or travelled 
along the road, without his musket. The houses were 
built like forts. 

Some of the soldiers carried long pikes. Others 
carried guns called matchlocks. These guns were fired 
with a slow-match, or a piece of substance that burns 
very slowly. It was long before they began to use 
flint and steel to make a spark and set fire to the 
powder in the gun, and still later before the gun-caps 
which are now used were invented. Each soldier car- 
ried a rest, or iron fork, which he stuck into the ground 
to rest the end of his heavy musket on while he took 
aim. Swords were carried by the officers, and some 
of the soldiers wore iron helmets and breast-plates. 
' Others wore coats quilted with cotton wool, through 
which an Indian arrow could not pass. 

Modes of Travel.— The usual mode of travel was on 
foot or horseback, but many went in vessels along the 
coast. That is the way Benjamin Franklin came from 
Boston to New York, as he tells us in his own story 
of his life. From New York to Philadelphia he came 
part of the way by land and part by boat on the Dela- 
ware River, and found it a long and difficult journey. 
Now one may make the same journey in two hours in a 
parlor car. 

5. NEW YORK. 

The Purposes of the Colonists. — The people who came 
to America did so for various purposes. The Spanish 
came in search of gold and silver. The French of 



^JEW YORK 61 

Canada wished to trade for furs with the Indians. 
The EngHsh of Virginia at first sought for gold, and 
soon after began to cultivate tobacco and send it to 
England. The Puritans were the first who began to 
till the soil as a business, and who had no other objects 
in view. They were the first, also, who made the New 
World truly their home, and took care of themselves 
without any help from Europe. 

The Dutch. — Other people than the French came to 
America to trade with the Indians. After Henry 
Hudson got back to Europe and told of the great river 
he had sailed up in the Half Moon, the Dutch claimed 
all the territory he had visited, and called it "New 
Netherlands. '' 

The First Settlement. — A Dutch sailor named Adrian 
Block came there in 1614, and loaded his ship with 
bear skins. But when he was just ready to set sail for 
home his ship, which was called the Tiger, was found 
to be on fire. It could not be saved, so the sailors had 
to hurry ashore and leave their vessel to the flames. 
They built themselves log huts, and spent the winter 
on Manhattan Island, where the great city of New 
York now stands. They called the place New Amster- 
dam. In the spring they built a vessel called the 
Onrust (which means Unrest), and sailed back to 
Holland. 

The Land Purchased. — After this the Dutch contin- 
ued to come, and they formed trading posts at differ- 
ent places along the Hudson River. They were the 
first settlers who acted as if they believed that the 
Indians had a right to the lands they hved on, and who 
were willing to pay for them. But they did not pay a 



62 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

very high price. They bought the whole of Manhat- 
tan Island for goods worth about twenty-four dollars. 
Other tracts of land were bought, and they kept up 
a thriving trade with the Indians for the skins of bears, 
beavers, and other animals. For these they were will- 
ing to sell the Indians guns, and powder and shot, 
and in this way the natives came to possess these new 
weapons. 

The Claim to Connecticut. — The Dutch were not 
content with Manhattan Island, but claimed that they 
owned the whole coast as far north as Cape Cod, and 
sent a vessel to the Connecticut River, on the banks 
of which a fort was built. They were not there long 
before an English vessel from Plymouth sailed up the 
stream. The Dutch threatened to fire on them if they 
went farther up, but the Plymouth men were not 
easily frightened and sailed past the fort in spite of 
its guns. They stopped at a place near the river 
which they called Windsor, and built a house to 
trade with the Indians. This took place in 1633, 
and soon afterwards other settlements were made on 
the river and along the coast. The Dutch talked of 
driving them out, but the English were soon too 
strong to be safely attacked and Connecticut was lost 
to the Dutch. 

The Delaware. — Another Dutch vessel, under Cap- 
tain Mey, sailed into Delaware Bay and River. There 
was fine country on both sides, and he declared that 
all this land should belong to Holland. A fort was 
built on the Delaware River, but it was soon allowed 
to go to ruin, and the Dutch acted as if they did not 
care for the country. 



NEW YORK 63 

The Swedes. — About twenty years afterwards a 
colony came from Sweden, led by Peter Minuit, a 
former Dutch governor of New York, but now in the 
service of Sweden, and settled on the banks of Dela- 
ware Bay and River. This made the Dutch suddenly 
decide that they wanted the country very badly. 
They said that the Swedes had settled on land belong- 
ing to them, and sent ships and soldiers who attacked 
them and took possession of their forts. The Swedes 
were not driven away, but they had to accept the 
Dutch as their masters. 

Dutch Settlements. — The Dutch were soon at war 
with the Indians, but their colony grew in size and 
they formed many settlements along the Hudson 
River. Yet the people of the colony were not satisfied, 
for some of their governors acted like tyrants, and they 
thought they ought to have the same right to govern 
themselves as the people of New England had. 

The Duke of York.— In 1664 the Duke of York, 
King Charles's brother, sent three armed ships from 
England, and Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor, was 
ordered to give up the country. This act was based 
on the voyages of the Cabots, which the English 
claimed gave them the right to all this country. Stuy- 
vesant wanted to fight, but the people would not help 
him. They did not like the way he had treated them, 
and thought they would be better off under the Eng- 
hsh. So the island was given up to the Enghsh, and 
the name of the town changed to New York. This 
was the beginning of the great city of that name. 

Leisler's Revolt. — There is not much more to teU 
about the colony of New York. The people did not 



64 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

find the English rule any easier than the Dutch. The 
governors sent out by the Duke of York were very 
severe. In the end the people rose against one of these 
governors and drove him away, and chose a merchant 
named Jacob Leisler to take his place. But a new 
governor was sent over from England, who arrested 
Leisler for treason. This governor, who was named 
Sloughter, did not want to do anything more to 
Leisler, who had n t been much to blame; but he had 
the fault Oi drinking, and some of Leisler's enemies 
got him to sign a death-v/arrant while he was drunk. 
They took care to hang Leisler before the governor 
got sober again. There was never any stronger proof 
than this of the folly and wickedness of intemperance. 

Captain Kidd. — Other governors came who were no 
better than Sloughter. One of them was said to be a 
partner of the pirates, of whom there were many on 
the coast. A vessel was sent against them, commanded 
by a mariner named Captain Kidd; but he ran away 
with the vessel and turned pirate himself. He was 
afterwards taken and hanged. 

How the Negroes wcro Treated. — At this period there 
were many negro slaves in New York. In time one- 
fifth of all the inhabitants were slaves. The people 
grew afraid of them, and passed severe laws to keep 
them in subjection. At length, in 1741, the story was 
started that the negroes had formed a plot to murder 
their masters. This caused great fear among the New 
Yorkers, and many of the negroes were arrested. 
Some of these were hanged, others were burned at the 
stake, and others transported. Some white men were 
hanged also. 



LIFE IN NEW YORK 



65 



It IS very doubtful if there was any real plot. The 
people were so frightened that they hardly knew what 
they were doing, and there is no doubt that many 
innocent persons were put to death. Fear makes men 
do many cruel and unjust things. 

6. LIFE IN NEW YORK. 

Dutch Houses. — The Dutch settlers of New York 
had modes of hfe very different from those of New 




England and the South. 
They built houses like those 
of Holland. These were of 
wood; or of small black and 
yellow bricks, and had their 
gable ends facing the street. 
There were weather-cocks on the roofs, and the houses 
had many doors and windows, with great brass knock- 
ers on the front doors. They were kept very clean, 
as houses were in Holland. 



DtJTCH Interior. 



66 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

The women spent much time in sweeping and scrub- 
bing. They had no carpets, but they covered the floors 
with white sand, which was made into hues and pat- 
terns with the broom. They had great open fire- 
places, with tiles of different colors and figures. The 
furniture was plain and solid, and there was much old 
silver and china in the cupboards. Every house had 
its spinning-wheel and a great chest full of linen which 
the women had woven. 

Modes of Life. — The Dutch did not work very hard. 
They took life easy, and spent much of their time 
sitting on the porches with long pipes in their mouths. 
They liked good eating and drinking, and enjoyed 
telling stories and playing at various games. Many 
things and habits we now have came from the Dutch. 
Our ''Santa Claus^' came from them, and also the 
custom of New Year visits, and of colored eggs at 
Easter. The Dutch cooks of New Amsterdam were the 
first in this country to make doughnuts and crullers. 
The people were not very fond of church-going, but 
they had great respect for their ministers, or ''domi- 
nies," as they called them. When money was scarce 
they paid the dominies in beaver skins or wampum. 

The Dutch Dress. — The Hollanders had their own 
ideas about dress. The men wore several pairs of knee- 
breeches, one over the other, which made them look 
very baggy. They wore large buckles at the knees 
and on the shoes, while their coats had great buttons 
of brass or silver. The women wore a great many 
short and bright-colored petticoats, with stockings of 
various colors and high-heeled shoes. On their heads 
they wore white muslin caps. 



MARYLAND 67 

Industries. — There were people of several different 
nations in New York, but Dutch was the ordinary lan- 
guage, even long after the country had been taken by 
the English. Most of the people were engaged in trading 
with the Indians for furs, which they sent to Europe, 
along with timber, tar, tobacco, and other things. They 
built their own vessels, and gave them such queer 
names as King Solomon and The Angel Gabriel. 

The Patroons. — The country was settled in a way 
unlike that of any other colony. Rich persons came 
from Holland, where they had bought the right to 
take up in America tracts of land running sixteen 
miles along a stream and as far back into the country 
as they pleased. They were told that they must pay 
the Indians for the land, and bring out a colony of 
fifty persons within four years. 

These great land-owners were called '' Patroons. '* 
They owned all the best land, and the farmers were 
only tenants. Thus New York was very different from 
New England, which was divided into small farms 
owned by the farmers. The patroon system was not 
changed by the English, and many of these great 
estates continued until recent times. The rents were 
low, but about 1844 most of the tenants refused to 
pay rent any longer. After some trouble, nearly all 
the farmers bought their lands, and the great estates 
of the patroons were broken up. 

7. MARYLAND. 

Lord Baltimore. — The Catholics of England were 
treated more harshly than the Puritans, and when they 
saw how well the Puritans got along in America, they 



68 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

thought that if they should cross the ocean they might 
be able to live like them in peace and comfort. So a 
Catholic nobleman, named Lord Baltimore, got King 
Charles I. to give him a charter for a colony. The land 
he chose was on Chesapeake Bay, where a settlement 
was made in 1634 at a place called St. Mary's. The 
country was named Maryland, after the wife of the 
king, whose name was Henrietta Maria. 

The charter which the king gave to Lord Baltimore 
was a very liberal one. He was permitted to govern 
the country in his own way, without any interference 
from England, and the king promised not to tax the 
colony if the governor would send him one-fifth of 
any gold or silver he might find and two Indian arrows 
every year as a sort of tribute. 

Religious Liberty. — Lord Baltimore was a wise and 
just man, and he declared that no one should suffer in 
his colony on account of religion. Most of the first 
settlers were Roman Catholics, but he said that all 
Christian people should have the same rights in Mary- 
land as the Catholics. So for a time there were no 
religious disputes in that colony, though it was not 
long before other troubles began. 

Clayborne*s Rebellion. — Many persons came from 
Virginia and settled in Maryland and Puritans also 
came from New England, but none of these got along 
well with the Catholics. A Virginian named Clayborne 
had been there before Lord Baltimore, and claimed to 
own a part of the country. Disputes began, and 
before many years there was war in the colony. Clay- 
borne was at the head of the rebellious forces and in 
the end he drove out the governor and took possession 



MARYLAND 6^ 

ot the country. But the fighting began once more, 
and he was defeated and had to flee for his Hfe. Thus 
Lord Baltimore got possession of his colony again. 

Religious Troubles. — But other Protestants kept 
coming into the country, who were not willing to livp 
in peace with the Catholics, even under their fair laws. 
Quarrels arose, and when the Protestants became strong 
enough they passed a law that no C?tholic should have 
a vote. In this way religious freedom came to an end 
in Maryland. 

A Royal Governor. — In 1691 King William of Eng- 
land, a strong Protestant, took the province away 
from Lord Baltimore and placed it under a royal 
governor. He declared that the Church of England 
should be the church of the colony, and the people 
were no longer allowed to worship in their own way. 
For twenty years this state of affairs continued. 
Then George I., a new king, restored the colony to a 
descendant of Lord Baltimore, who was a Protestant. 
After that time no one was persecuted in Maryland 
on account of his religion. 

Life in Maryland. — Most of the people of Maryland 
lived on plantations and raised tobacco as was done in 
Virginia. They paid for everything they wanted with 
this plant, which served them instead of money. 
Lord Baltimore had bought land from the Indians, and 
the people had very little trouble with them. After 
the religious disputes were settled, Maryland became 
a happy and prosperous colony, and affairs went on 
well there for many years. 



70 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



8. PENNSYLVANIA. 

Religious Persecution. — We have seen that religious 
persecution made many of the people of Europe come 
to America. It was this that brought the French 
Protestants to Florida, the Puritans to New England, 
and the Catholics to Maryland. The same cause sent 
another colony over the ocean. In those days each of 
the great nations of Europe had one religion which it 
said was the only true one, and they declared that 
any person who had a different belief was a bad man, 
and should be punished. 

The Quakers. — There were many of these '^ heretics, '* 
as they called them, in England. One sect of them 
called themselves Friends, but their enemies named 
them Quakers. They did not believe in war, nor in 
fine clothes, nor that one man is better than another. 
They would not take off their hats before a king. They 

had no fine churches and no 
paid ministers, and their ideas 
were so different from those of 
the Church of England that 
the government tried to make 
them change their belief, and in 
so doing treated them cruelly. 
We have told already how badly 
• the Puritans treated them. 
William Penn. — Among the 
Quakers was one rich and edu- 
cated man, named William Penn. His father had 
been an admiral in the English navy, and when he 
died Charles II. owed him a large sum of money. 




William Penn. 



PENNSYLVANIA 71 

William Penn had been in prison for being a Quaker, 
and he thought that he would like to make a home for 
himself and his friends where they could live in peace. 
So he asked King Charles to give him some land in 
America to pay the debt owed to his father. 

The king was glad to do this, for he had more land 
than money. He told Penn that he might have the 
land on the west of the Delaware River. This had 
belonged first to the Indians, then to the Swedes, and 
afterwards to the Dutch, but when the EngUsh took 
New Amsterdam from the Dutch they took this also. 
It was covered with forests, and Penn wished to call it 
Sylvania, from the Latin word Sylva, which means 
forest. But the king said it should be called Penn- 
sylvania, or Penn's forest-land. 

Philadelphia. — William Penn came to America in the 
year 1682, in the good ship Welcome. There were 
Swedes and Dutch in his new province before him, as 
we know, and also some English, whom he had sent 
out the year before. Several of the Swedes lived 
where the great city of Philadelphia now stands; but 
Penn bought the ground from them, and laid out a 
city which he called Philadelphia, or '^brotherly love." 

Penn's Treaty with the Indians. — He soon asked the 
Indians to meet him and have a friendly talk. We 
are told that many of the chiefs came, and they met 
together under a great elm-tree, on the banks of the 
Delaware. The white men had no guns, as the peo- 
ple elsewhere had, and they gave presents to the 
Indians and promised to buy the land from them, 
instead of cheating and shooting them as had been done 
in other places. The Indians were glad to hear this, 



72 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



and said that they would hve ''in love with the children 
of William Penn while the sun and moon shall shine." 
This promise was kept for many years. The Quakers 
were a peaceful and just people, who never did any 
harm to the savages, and the Indians always looked 
on them as their friends. All the troubles with the 
red men in Pennsylvania came from other people. 

The Laws. — William Penn 
stayed only two years in 
America, and then went 
back to England, where he 
remained for many years. 
Instead of trying to govern 
the people, he called them 
together and let them make 
their own laws, and the 
colony at once became free 
and happy. Every man 
who paid a tax was given 
the right to vote, no mat- 
ter what religious belief he 
held, and the people con- 
tinued to choose their own 
officers and make their own 
laws. Nearly the only power which William Penn kept 
was that of appointing the governor. 

The Population. — People came over very fast to the 
Quaker settlement. Some of those who came first 
lived in holes dug in the river bank; but houses were 
soon built, and in two years Philadelphia had three 
hundred houses and twenty-five hundred inhabitants. 
Penn did not come back until 1699, at which time there 




Penn Treaty Monument. 



PENNSYLVANIA 73 

were seven hundred houses. The city was very pros- 
perous, but Penn did not get much money from his 
colony. The people forgot how much they owed to 
him, and let him die poor after all he had done to make 
them rich and happy. 

Delaware. — And now we must say something about 
the provinces of Delaware and New Jersey. One of 
the early governors of Virginia, named Lord de la 
Ware, had made a voyage along the coast, and entered 
a beautiful river, which was called Delaware after his 
name. Then the Swedes and the Dutch came, and 
afterwards the Enghsh, and the country which is 
now called Delaware was for a time part of Penn- 
sylvania. In 1703 it was made a separate colony, 
under its present name. 

New Jersey. — The Dutch were the first to settle in 
New Jersey. But when the Duke of York robbed the 
Dutch of their settlements, he gave this province to 
two Enghsh noblemen, who named it after the island 
of Jersey, in the Enghsh Channel. 

Among the people who came there were some Quak- 
ers, and Wilham Penn soon bought part of the land 
and invited others to come. Afterwards the rest of the 
province was bought by the Quakers, and it was 
thrown open to the persecuted people of all rehgions. 

In 1702 a royal governor was appointed who ruled 
over New York and New Jersey, and it was not till 
1738 that New Jersey got a governor of its own. But 
the lands settled by the Quakers long continued 
among the most peaceful, freest, and happiest of all 
the settlements in America. 



74 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



9. LIFE IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

The People of Pennsylvania. — Pennsylvania was 
settled by people of different nations, and several 
languages were spoken there. Among these settlers 
were English and Swedes, Dutch and Germans. Scotch 




William Penn's House, I^hiladelphia. 

and Irish. There were no important towns besides 
Philadelphia, but that was the greatest city in America 
till after the Revolution. 

Philadelphia. — William Penn laid out his city with 
streets crossing each other at right angles, like those 
of ancient Babylon. It had many handsome build- 
ings, the streets were lined with trees, and there were 
gardens and orchards about the houses, so that it was 



LIFE IN PENNSYLVANIA 75 

a *'fair greene country town/^ as Penn wished it to be. 
The sidewalks in time were paved with flag-stones, 
which at that period could be found in few cities. In 
1740 the city had about twelve thousand inhabitants, 
and was a very thriving place. 

Modes of Life. — Philadelphia was noted for the abun- 
dance of its fruit. A German traveller said, in 1748^ 
that the peaches were so plentiful that the people 
fed their pigs on them. The people in Europe, he 
said, cared more for their turnips than the people in 
Philadelphia did for their finest fruits. 

The shops of the city were only the ordinary houses, 
with something hung over the door to show what was 
for sale inside. Now you would see a basket, now a 
beehive, or perhaps a wooden anchor, or something 
else to serve as a sign. The people were very quiet 
and sober, and did not care much for amusements. 
There was not much travelling about the country, for 
the roads were very bad. 

Dealings with the Indians. — While William Penn 
lived his colony had no trouble with the Indians. It 
has been said that no drop of Quaker blood was ever 
shed by an Indian. This is not quite true, yet they 
and the Quakers were long the best of friends. But 
one of William Penn's descendants treated the Indians 
badly, and made them very angry. 

The Indians had sold the whites as much land as a 
man could walk over in a day and a half. They sup- 
posed that this land would be walked over in the usual 
way; but instead of that an easy route was chosen and 
some fast walkers were trained, who went over a very 
long distance in the day and a half. The Indians said 



76 TliE ENGLISH COLOxMES 

that this was not fair. But Indians were brought 
from New York who were enemies of the tribe of the 
Delawares, and who drove them from their lands. 
This was not the way that William Penn would have 
acted, and the Indians never again felt as they had 
done towards the white men. 

Benjamin Franklin. — In 1723 there came to Phila- 
delphia a very remarkable man. This was the cele- 
brated Benjamin Franklin, who was born in Boston, 

but came to Philadelphia while 
he was young. His brother had 
printed a newspaper in Boston, 
and Franklin soon started one in 
Philadelphia, which became one 
of the best in the country. He 
did many other things. He kept 
a stationer's shop; he bound 
'^'' books; he made ink; he sold 
rags, soap, and coffee. 

Benjamin Franklin. 

He was not ashamed to do 
anything honest, and would wheel the papers he sold 
along the streets in a wheelbarrow, which many poorer 
and less worthy men were too proud to do. He was 
one of the wisest men of the period in which he lived. 
While he was working he was always studying, and it 
was he who proved that lightning is the same thing as 
electricity. He brought the hghtning down from the 
clouds along the string of a kite, and got an electric 
shock from it. 

FrankHn did much for the progress of Philadelphia. 
He started a university, a hospital, a library, and other 
pubhc Institutions. He worked also for the good of 




THE CAROLTNAS 



the whole country. No man did more to help Amer- 
ica to become free from England, and he was one of 
those who prepared the Constitution of the United 




Franklin BRorrcHT the Lightning Down from the Clouds. 

States, that great document which first made a nation 
of this country. Franklin was one of the noblest men 
the world has ever known, and America will never 
cease to be proud of him. 

10. THE CAROLINAS. 

The Gift of Carolina. — We have seen how freely King 
Charles II. gave away land in America. He gave New 
York to one person and Pennsylvania to another, and 
a large ree:ion, known as Carolina, was given by him to 



78 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

eight persons, most of whom were noblemen of his 
court and none of whom had ever seen America. 

Settlers had come to Carolina before this, some from 
Virginia, and others from New England and elsewhere. 
Several settlements had been made before 1663, when 
these noblemen became the owners of the land. These 
eight persons decided to have a different kind of gov- 
ernment from that of the other colonies. 

They did not believe in freedom, and thought that 
the people were not fit to take care of themselves, as 
they were trying to do in New England. So they 
concluded to have a strong government, in which the 
people would have nothing to do but to obey the laws 
that were made for them. 

The Grand Model Government. — The proprietors of 
Carolina went to a celebrated philosopher, named John 
Locke, and asked him to draw up a system of govern- 
ment for them. He did so, forming a plan which he called 
the ''Grand Model." There were to be earls and barons 
in Carolina as there were in Europe. These were to 
own all the land, and to have all the power, and the 
people were to be little better than slaves, since they 
could not leave the plantations on which they worked. 

What the People Did. — This plan might have done 
very well for the Spanish or French colonies, but it 
would not do for the English. The people in Carohna 
had come from other parts of the country, where the 
settlers owned the land and made the laws. They did 
not understand the Grand Model, and paid no atten- 
tion to it, but went on in their own way and took all 
the land they wanted, caring nothing about the plans 
of the distant owners. 



THE CAROLINAS 



79 



The earls and barons stayed at home and the pro- 
prietors stayed with them, while the people decided 
for themselves what was best to do, and did it. Settlers 
came from different parts of Europe, among them some 
French Protestants, who had the same behef as those 
who had come to America a hundred years before under 
Jean Ribault. The colony soon became prosperous. 

The Pirates. — Everybody was not honest and law- 
abiding, for pirates, or sea-robbers, soon appeared 
along the coast and for 

years they made much r^^~~ " " v-^^ -^- ^^^^— ^^//?| 
trouble for the com- 
merce of the colonies. 
They would hide with 
their vessels in the 
bays and rivers of the 
coast, and suddenly sail 
out and attack passing 
ships. It is said that 
some of the settlers 
helped them. They 
sunk many vessels and 
murdered many people 
before they were driven 
away or captured by 
armed ships, and it 
took a long time to bring this piracy to an end. 

Industries. — Rice was first brought into the colony 
by a vessel from Madagascar. The grains were planted 
and it became a very valuable crop in the southern 
part of Carolina. In the northern part the people made 
tar and turpentine out of the sap of the pine-trees, and 
hunted for bear and beaver skins. 




A Pirate Attack. 



80 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

Spanish and Indian Wars. — Later on there were wars 
with the Spaniards and the Indians. The people of 
CaroUna sent some war vessels against St. Augustine, 
the Spanish settlement in Florida. In return the 
Spaniards stirred up the Indians to make war on the 
settlements. But in the end the Tuscarora Indians, 
with whom they had the most trouble, were driven out 
of the colony and forced to go to New York, where 
they joined the Iroquois, or Five Nations. 

Division of the Colony. — The proprietors still tried 
to govern the people, but these preferred to govern 
themselves, so they drove out of the colony one of the 
governors sent to them and put his secretary into 
prison. In the end the proprietors got tired of quar- 
relling with the people and asked the king to buy 
the province from them. 

He did so, and divided it into two parts, which 
he called North Carolina and South Carohna. This 
was done in 1729. The people now chose their own 
law-makers, though they did not like the governors 
sent them by the king any more than they had done 
their old ones. But this did not keep other people 
from coming, and the country in time grew rich and 
prosperous. 

11. LIFE IN VIRGINIA AND CAROLINA. 

The Settlers of Virginia. — The people who settled 
Virginia were of a very different class from those of the 
Northern colonies. Many of them were English gentle- 
men, with more pride than money, who did not know 
how to work, and who hoped to get rich by finding 
mines of gold and silver, or in some other easy way. 



LIFE IN VIRGINIA AND CAROLINA 81 

Afterwards criminals were sent across the ocean and 
made to work for a certain number of years on the 
plantations. No doubt many of them, were of little 
use. In time the planters became the rich men of 
Virginia, and these servants the poor men. 

In the Early Days. — Captain Smith, as we have 
already said, made everybody work, but he did not 
stay very long. At first, as he says, all the shelter the 
colonists had was an awning made from an old sail, 
nailed to trees. Then they built some rough log houses, 
with seats and tables made of planks cut with an axe. 
This was very different from the way people after- 
wards lived in Virginia. 

When slaves were brought to the colony and the 
people began to raise tobacco they soon grew more 
comfortable. Their tobacco was sent to England, and 
goods were sent to them in return. For a long time 
tobacco was used for money. One pound of tobacco 
was worth from two to twelve cents of our money, 
but at that time this could buy five or six times as 
much as the same amount of money can now. 

Modes of Life. — The settlers soon began to build 
vessels for themselves, and carried on a good trade with 
England. They lived in a different way from the 
people of the North. In travelling you would find 
few towns or villages, but the land was divided up 
into large plantations, w^here tobacco was the principal 
crop. Each house stood far from any others, and there 
were a great many negro slaves. 

The slaves who worked in the fields lived in little 
villages of their own. Nearly everything that was used 
on the plantations was made by the slaves, who were 



82 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

taught different trades. There were mihs Xb grma corn 
and wheat, and large sheds to cure tobacco. This 
tobacco was packed in great hogsheads and sent to the 
coast to be loaded on vessels and shipped to England. 
They had a curious way of sending it to the coast. 
An axle was run through the hogshead of tobacco, 
and shafts fixed to it. Then horses or oxen would drag 
it over the roads, the hogshead rolling along like a 
great wheel. 

The Planters. — As time went on there came to be 
great differences in riches. There were more very rich 
men and more very poor ones in the South than in 
the North. The great planters lived like lords. They 
kept packs of hunting dogs and many racing horses, 
and rode to church or town in fine coaches, each 
drawn by six horses and attended by riders on 
horse-back. 

The Houses of the Planters. — The houses, which were 
built of wood, or of bricks brought from England, 
were often large and grand, having broad stairways 
and mantels and wainscots of solid mahogany, which 
was richly carved. Gold and silverware could be 
seen in abundance on the sideboards, and the furni- 
ture was rich and showy. The planters were very 
hospitable. Strangers were received with a warm wel- 
come, and everything was done to make their visits 
pleasant and agreeable. 

Government. — The planters spent much of their time 
attending to political matters. They carried on the 
government of the colony and became skilful in 
the art of politics. There were among them men of 
high education and fine character, and afterwards many 



LIFE IN VIRGINIA AND CAROLINA 



83 



of the leading statesmen of America came from Vir- 
ginia. The governors of the colony were sent from 
England, and at first the laws were made in that 
country. Afterwards the people were allowed to make 
their own laws. 

Punishments. — The early laws were very severe. 
Every man who stayed away from church was pun- 
ished. At first the law said that a man who stayed 




Interior of a Virginia Homestead. 

away from church three times should be put to death. 
Afterwards the punishment for this offence was to be 
made a slave for a year and a day. There were severe 
laws against swearing and scolding. Both men and 
women might be whipped in public, or placed in the 
stocks. Or they might be made to stand in church 
with white sheets over them, or with the name of their 
offence pinned on their breasts. Such laws, however, 
did not last long, and were not often carried out. 



84 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

Religious Persecution. — The Church of England was 
the estabhshed church of Virginia, and members of 
other churches were treated with much severity. The 
laws forbade Quakers and Catholics to come into the 
colony. All those who came were punished. This 
made many go to Maryland and Carolina, where 
religion was free; so that the severe laws of Virginia 
helped to fill up these other colonies. 

Education. — In 1671, Governor Berkeley, of Vir- 
ginia, wrote, ''I thank God there are no free schools 
nor printing-presses here, and I hope we shall not have 
them these hundred years. '^ Another governor taxed 
school-masters twenty shillings each. So education 
did not make much progress, and there was no news- 
paper in Virginia till 1736. But William and Mary 
College, of Virginia, founded in 1693, was the second 
in the country; Harvard College, of Massachusetts, 
being the first. 

North Carolina. — The mode of life all through the 
South was much the same as in Virginia, the land 
often being divided into great plantations, worked 
by slaves, while the country was not so thickly set- 
tled as in the North. In North Carolina the people 
lived in different ways. Great pine woods lay all 
along the coast region, and the people there got 
tar and turpentine from the trees. Farther back the 
country was more open, and farms were cultivated, 
while many persons spent their time in hunting. 
The settlers lived far apart, and the only roads 
they had through the woods were paths, with notches 
cut on the trees to guide travellers. This they called 
"blazing their way," 



GEORGIA 85 

South Carolina. — South Carolina was much more like 
Virginia. Here great plantations were formed, but 
rice was raised instead of tobacco. Afterwards indigo 
was cultivated. The planters of South Carolina grew 
very rich from rice and indigo. At a later time cotton 
took the place of these. Farther back, near the moun- 
tains, the people were poor, the land was divided into 
small farms, and there were many hunters. 

Schools and Churches. — There were few schools except 
in Charleston, but the rich planters sent their sons to 
England to be educated. The Church of England 
became the established church of the colony, but there 
were no severe laws against people of other beliefs, 
as in Virginia. The difference in the crops and in the 
climate had much to do with the difference in mode of 
life of the Southern and Northern colonies. 

12. GEORGIA. 

Tyranny in Europe.^Is it not interesting to find that 
nearly all the English colonies in America were formed 
as places of refuge for the poor and ill-treated people 
of Europe? In our happy days and our free country 
it is hard for us to understand the way men lived and 
acted in Europe a few hundred years ago. People not 
only could not do as they wished to do, but were not 
even allowed to think as they wished to think. 

To-day there are many different ideas about God and 
heaven and religious matters, but then the govern- 
ments tried to make everybody think the same way 
about these matters This they could not do. People 
never can be made tc think the same way about any- 
thing Then the governments tried to force them to do so 



86 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



by ill-treatment, and thousands of men and women came 
to America to get away from those who oppressed them. 
Oglethorpe. — We have told the story of a number of 
colonies that were formed in this way. There is one 
more to speak of, the colony of Georgia. This was 
formed by an Englishman named Oglethorpe, one of 
those warm-hearted men who spend their lives in 
trying to do good to their fellow-men. 

The English Prisons. — In those 
days persons in England who failed 
in business, and could not pay their 
debts, were put into prison, where 
they were often kept for many 
years. The prisons of old times 
were filthy dens, where the prison- 
ers were crowded together and 
treated with great cruelty, and 
many of them died of want and 
disease. It was these poor debtors whom Oglethorpe 
wished to help; but he said that all who were poor 
and unfortunate, and all who were ill-treated on account 
of their religion, might have a home in his colony. 

The Settlement of Georgia. — The king, George IL 
gave him a charter to the land that lay between Caro- 
lina and Florida, which he called Georgia, after the 
king's name. He brought over a number of the poor 
debtors, whom the king set free at his desire. They 
made a settlement where the city of Savannah now 
stands. It was a warm climate and for a whole year 
Oglethorpe lived in a tent, set up under four pine- 
trees. The king had given him the land; but, like 
WiUiam Penn and some others, he thought that the 




Oglethorpe. 



GEORGIA 87 

Indians had the best right to it, so he paid them for 
it. After that they were always friendly to him. 

Oglethorpe's Colonists. — People came to Georgia 
from all parts of Europe. These were the poor of 
Europe, who hoped to live in comfort in America. 
Among them were many Moravians from Austria, — • 
people who had been persecuted on account of their 
religion. Oglethorpe would not let any slaves be 
brought into Georgia. He also would not let any per- 
son bring rum into the colony. He looked on slavery 
and intemperance as two great evils. 

The Colony Prospers. — Houses were built, and a fort 
was erected to defend the colonists, while the land was 
divided up into farms and given to the settlers. Sa- 
vannah soon became a town of considerable size and 
importance. The people were on good terms with the 
Indians, and all went well with them. No colony in 
America ever began with better prospects. But they 
were soon to have their share of trouble. 

The Claims of Spain. — The country which the king of 
England had given to Oglethorpe was part of that 
which Spain claimed under the name of Florida. It was 
the same region which Narvaez and De Soto had trav- 
elled over two hundred years before. So if discovery 
gave any rights, this land belonged to Spain rather than 
to England. But the Spanish had not settled it, and the 
English had, and they were not likely to give it up to 
please Spain. Those who had possession did not trouble 
themselves much about an old claim on paper. 

War with Florida. — The Spaniards grew angry on 
finding the English coming into a country which they 
said was theirs. After some years war broke out 



88 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

between England and Spain, and then the people of 
the colonies began the cruel work of trying to kill one 
another. In the year 1740 Oglethorpe, who was an 
old soldier, got together an army of one thousand white 
men and many Indians, and marched into Florida to 
capture the Spanish city of St. Augustine. But he did 
not succeed and had to march back again, with his 
men very much the worse for their journey. 

Oglethorpe Defeats the Spaniards. — Two years after- 
wards the Spaniards tried to take Georgia from the 
English. They sailed northward with three thousand 
men and a great many vessels, and landed on St. 
Simon's Island. Oglethorpe met them with a much 
smaller force, but by a shrewd plot he threw the 
Spaniards into a panic of terror and they ran for their 
ships. They sailed away in all haste and the colony 
was saved. Many years passed before Georgia had any 
more troubles from war. 

After the War. — Some time after this Oglethorpe 
went back to England. The people were not satisfied 
with the laws, some of which were severe and vexa- 
tious, and they made so many complaints that in 
time the charter was given back to the king, and 
Georgia became a royal province. Oglethorpe never 
returned to America. He lived to be a very old man, 
and was one of the best men that had anything to do 
with the settlement of America. 

The Laws. — One of the laws of which the people com- 
plained stated that no man should own a farm beyond 
a fixed size. Another stated that no woman should 
have land left to her by will. Every man who held 
land was bound to serve as a soldier when called upon, 



GEORGIA 89 

and this was why women were not allowed to own it. 
Everybody was to have the rights of an Englishman, 
and all religions were free except the Roman Catholic. 

Industries of the Colony. — The people soon said that 
they could not work their lands in so warm a climate 
without slaves, so after seven years the planters were 
allowed to have them. And rum, which Oglethorpe 
had forbidden, soon made its way into the colony. 
The people cleared the forests and tilled the land with 
the help of their slaves, and after a while much silk 
was made in the colonv. Silk-worms had been sent 
from England, with people who understood silk mak- 
ing, and this business was kept up until the time of 
the Revolution. General Oglethorpe took some of the 
first silk that was produced to England, and a silk 
dress was made of it for the queen. 

Visitors. — Among the people of Georgia was a settle- 
ment of the Highlanders of Scotland, and whenever Ogle- 
thorpe visited them he wore the Highland dress, which 
gave them great pleasure. Soon after Georgia was 
settled some celebrated English preachers came there. 
These were John and Charles Wesley, the men who 
started the Methodist doctrine in England. George 
Whitefield, another celebrated Methodist preacher, also 
came over. From the monev which he received for his 
preaching he founded an '' Orphan House " in Savannah. 

Dealings with the Indians. — As we have said, Ogle- 
thorpe, like William Penn in Pennsylvania, Lord 
Baltimore in Maryland, and the Dutch in New York, 
paid the Indians for their land. In consequence these 
colonies had much less trouble with the Indians than 
those which took the land without paying for it. 



90 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



The Indians of Georgia were called Creeks, because 
there were so many creeks, or small streams, in their 
country. They formed a league of several tribes, and 
were more civilized than the Indians of the North. 




Oglethokpe and the Chiefs. 

The Chiefs' Gift. — Some of the chiefs gave Ogle- 
thorpe a buffalo skin, on the inside of which was a 
painting of the head and feathers of an eagle. They 
said to him, ''The feathers of the eagle are soft, which 
signifies love; the skin is warm, and is the emblem of 
protection; therefore love and protect our little 
families." And they lived up to this. All the trouble 
the Georgia people had with the Indians was with 
those of Florida, whom the Spanish stirred up against 
them. 



CONDITIONS OF THE COLONIES 91 

13. CONDITIONS OF THE COLONIES. 

The English Colonies. — We have now told the story 
Df the settlement of the English colonies from New 
Hampshire to Georgia. Maine at that time was 
part of Massachusetts, and New Hampshire was 
the most northerly colony. The whole coast land 
between the French province of Canada and the 
Spanish province of Florida was occupied by English 
settlements. 

Each of the English colonies claimed the country 
from the settlements on the coast all the way to the 
Pacific Ocean. But the French also had a claim to the 
back country^ where they had made settlements, and 
it took some hard fighting later on to decide who 
should own it. 

Growth of the Colonies. — The colonies grew very 
rapidly. In less than one hundred and fifty years 
after the first settlement was made there were a 
million and a quarter of people in the country. These 
were divided among the New England, the Middle, 
and the Southern colonies, there being nearly the 
same number in each. The South had more than the 
others, but not more white people. 

Industries. — The people of the colonies were very 
industrious. They raised tobacco, rice, indigo, grain, 
and other crops, much of which was sent to England to 
pay for manufactured goods. Rice served for money 
in South Carolina, as tobacco did in Virginia. The 
colonies in time grew so rich that they were able to 
help the king of England, in his wars, with money 
and ships. 



92 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



The Colonies Isolated. — At first the colonies on the 
coast were a long distance apart. Great forests spread 
between them, and it was not easy for a man to get 
from one to another except by ships. So they had 
not much to do with one another. The New England 




An Old Grist Mill. 

colonies were the only ones that were close together, 
but each of the other colonies has a history of its own, 
as if it were a separate country. 

Growing Together. — The country between the colo- 
nies in time filled up with people, the timber was cut 
down, and farms were laid out all along the coast and 
some distance into the interior. By 1750 the settle- 
Qients had grown together so that men might travel 



CONDITIONS OF THE COLONIES 93 

by land along the whole coast and find white men at 
short distances apart. America was now fast becoming 
one country, instead of a number of separate colonies. 

Land Travelling. — But a land journey in America in 
colonial times was not an easy task. It was not till 
long afterwards that railroads and steamboats came 
into use. The roads were bad, and many of the 
streams had no bridges, or very poor ones, so it was 
not easy nor pleasant to travel on horseback or by 
carriage. There were stage-lines in some places, but 
the stages moved very slowly. Much of the travel 
continued to be in vessels along the coast. 

Difference in Customs. — The people of New England 
were settled more closely than those of the South. 
Their land was broken up into small farms, and more 
goods were made in workshops. In the South there 
was more land, and most of it was divided into large 
plantations, so that the people lived at a distance 
apart, and there was less social intercourse than in the 
North. Negro slaves were kept in the whole country, 
but there were more of them in the South than in 
the North, for the great plantations in the South 
could not be worked without them, while there was 
much less use for them on the smaller farms of the 
North. The warm climate of the South also was 
better suited to them. 

Government. — Each of the colonies had a legisla- 
ture, or law-making body, of its own, but only New 
England elected its own governors. Elsewhere the 
governors were appointed by the proprietors or the 
king, so that the people had less +o do with public 
affairs. 



94 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

Restrictive Laws. — England wanted to keep all the 
trade of the colonies for itself. The people were for- 
bidden to send their vessels and goods to any other 
country than England, or to let the ships of any other 
country come into their ports. And the English wanted 
to manufacture their goods for them also, and to keep 
the people of America at farming. They forbade them 
to make iron, paper, hats, leather, and other things. 

These laws were not well carried out. The people 
often disobeyed them, sending ships where they 
pleased and making many things for themselves. In 
after years England tried to enforce the laws, and the 
people grew angry and rebellious. This was one of the 
things that led to the Revolution. 



PART II.— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

1. Name the two companies formed to make settlements in 
America. When did they send out colonies? Where did the South- 
ern colony settle? How did the colonists act? How did Captain 
John Smith make them work? How did Pocahontas save Captam 
Smith's life? What became of Smith? Describe "the starvmg 
time." What plant did the colonists begin to raise? When were 
slaves first brought to America? How did the colonists get wives? 
Describe the Indian massacre. What caused Bacon's rebellion? 
What followed it? 

2. Why did the Pilgrims leave England for Holland? Why 
did they decide to go to America? What was the name of their 
vessel? Where did they land, and when? Why were they called 
Pilgrims? Who was Captain Miles Standish? What did Canonicus,. 
the Indian chief, do? What new settlement was made? What 
were these colonists called? What was done with the charter? 
What kind of government was established? What other colonies 
were formed? How came Roger Williams to found Rhode Island? 
How were religious opinions treated there? How did the Quakers 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 95 

act in Massachusetts? How did the Puritans treat them? What 
is meant by witchcraft? Describe the Salem witchcraft. What 
advance was made in government? Tell what was done about 
the Connecticut charter. How did the people get rid of royaj 
governors? 

3. How did the English treat the Indians? What did the 
Pequots do? Describe the attack on the Pequot fort. \Vhat effect 
had this on the Indians? Who was King Philip and what did he 
do? Describe the attack on the Narragansetts. When and how 
was Philip killed? What were the results of the v/ar? Why did 
the French stir up the Indians to attack the English? What was 
the result? How did Mrs. Dustin escape from the Indians? Wliat 
was done at Schenectady and Deerfield? How did the people 
protect themselves from the Indians? 

4. What were the houses of the Puritans like? How were they 
arranged and furnished? How was the sun made to tell the time 
of day? How did the Puritans dress? What titles were used? 
What did they have for food? What were their ideas about amuse- 
ments? What punishments did they inflict? How were votes 
taken at the town meetings? What were their rules about church- 
going? How were the churches protected? How were the people 
kept awake in the churches? What industries had the Puritans?' 
What did they use for money? What were their vessels used for? 
Who had to act as soldiers and how were they armed? What was 
the mode of travel? How did Benjamin Franklin come to Phila- 
delphia? 

5. For what purposes did people come to America? What region 
did the Dutch claim? How came Adrian Block to spend the winter 
on Manhattan Island? Where did the Dutch settle? How did 
they act towards the Indians? How were they driven out of Con- 
necticut? \Vhat peoples settled along Delaware Bay? How did 
the Dutch act towards the Swedes? What did the Duke of York 
do? What name did the English give to the Dutch town of New 
Amsterdam? How was the EngHsh rule liked? Describe Leisler's- 
revolt. What proportion of the people of New York were slaves? 
What story was started about them and how were they treated? 

6. What kind of houses did the Dutch build? How were they 
furnished? Did the Dutch work hard? What w^re some of their 



96 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

customs? How did they treat their ministers? How were the men 
and women dressed? What did they send to Europe? How was 
the country settled? What were the great land-owners called? 
Did the farmers own their land? How were the estates of the 
patroons broken up? 

7. How were the Catholics treated in England? What did 
Lord Baltimore do? What did he name the land granted him? 
What did he declare about religion? Describe Clayborne 's rebel- 
lion. What did the Protestants do? What happened after the 
king took control of the colony? Was it given back to Lord 
Baltimore again? How did the people of Maryland live? What 
did they use as money? 

8. What beliefs and customs did the Quakers have? How 
were they treated in England? Who was William Penn? How 
came he to ask the king for land in America? What land did the 
king give him? What did its name mean? When did William Penn 
come to America? What city did he lay out? Describe Penn 'a 
treaty with the Indians. How did the Quakers and the Indians 
get on together? What power did Penn give the people? How 
^ast did the city of Philadelphia grow? How was Penn treated by 
\he colonists? After whom was the Delaware River named? When 
was the colony of Delaware separated from Pennsylvania? Who 
first settled New Jersey? Who bought the land? When did New 
Jersey get a governor of its own? 

9. From what nations came the settlers of Pennsylvania? How 
was Philadelphia laid out? How were the streets paved? How 
many inhabitants were there in 1740? What is said about fruit? 
How were the shops arranged? What was the character of the 
people? How were the Indians treated? What trick was played 
to rob them of their land? What celebrated man came to 
Philadelphia in 1723? How did he do business? How did he 
prove that lightning and electricity are the same? What did 
he do for Philadelphia? What service did he perform for the 
whole country? 

10. To whom did Charles II. give the province of Carolina? What 
ideas did the proprietors have about the people? Whom did they 
ask to draw up a plan of government? What was this plan called? 
How were the people to be governed? How did the people act? 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 97 

Wliat class of law-breakers was there along the coast? In. what 
part of Carolina was the rice plant grown? What did the people 
do in the northern part? Describe the wars with the Spaniards 
and Indians. What became of the Tuscarora Indians? What 
troubles took place between the people and the governor? What 
did the proprietors ask the king to do? How did the king divide 
the Carolinas? 

11. What class of people came to Virginia? What other kind 
were sent there? How did they become divided? How did the 
people live at first? What was used as money? What was it worths 
How did the people live afterwards? What work did the slaves do 
on the plantations? How were the tobacco hogsheads sent to the 
coast? How did the great planters live in later years? What were 
their houses like? How were strangers treated? What kind of 
government had they? What punishments were inflicted by the 
early laws? What was the established religion of Virginia? How 
did the government act towards other religions? For what did a 
governor of Virginia thank God? Which were the first two colleges 
in America? How was the land divided in the South? What did 
the people of North Carolina produce? How did they make their 
way through the woods? What was South Carolina like? What 
crops were raised? How was education provided for? 

12. How were the debtors of England treated a few centuries 
ago? For what purpose was the colony of Georgia founded? Who 
was its founder? How did Oglethorpe treat the Indians? What 
classes of people came to Georgia? What did Oglethorpe do about 
slaves and rum? What claim was made by Spain? What did Ogle- 
thorpe do? What was the fate of the Spanish expedition? What 
kind of man was Oglethorpe? What were the laws that the people 
complained of? When were the planters allowed to have slaves? 
WTiat important industry was started? What was done with some 
of the first silk? What celebrated English preachers came to 
Georgia? Were the Indians paid for their land? Why were they 
called Creeks? What did the chiefs give Oglethorpe? Was there 
any trouble with the Indians? 

13. How far back from the coast did the English colonies 
claim the country? What other people claimed the back country? 

How rapidly did the colonies grow? How was the population 

7 



98 THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

divided? What crops were raised? How rich did the colonies 
grow? Was it easy to get from one colony to another? Why not? 
Which colonies were close together? What had happened by 1750? 
Why were land journeys difficult? Why was there more social 
intercourse in New England than in the South? Where were negro 
slaves kept? Why were they most useful in the South? How were 
the governors appointed? What did England do about trade? 
What were the people forbidden to make? What was the result of 
these laws? 



PART III. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



1. THE FRENCH IN AMERICA. 

The English Colonies. — We have told the story of 
how the EngHsh came to America and settled along 
the coast of what is now the United States. The 
colonies they formed were not very large. They did 
not go far back from the coast, but, as we have 
already said, their people laid claim to the land across 
the whole country as far as the Pacific Ocean. 

These claims were only on paper, for they had not 
taken possession of much of the land. Most of the 
country to the west was still in the hands of the 
Indians; but part of it was held by other white men, 
people of another nation, who had settled on it, and 
were not likely to give it up without a fight. 

The French Settlements. — These people were the 

French. They had forts and settlements along the 

line of the great lakes and down the Mississippi River 

as far as the Gulf of Mexico. These were at long 

distances apart, but France claimed all this country and 

also that between the lakes and the Ohio River. Thus 

it seemed as if the English would in time be confined 

to their settlements along the coast, and the western 

country would belong to the French. But before we 

tell the story of what followed we must go back to the 

early French settlers, and relate what they were doing 

while the English were forming their colonies. 

99 



100 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

Enterprise of the French. — The French had been 
mQre active than the Enghsh in exploring the country. 
We have already told how Champlain made his way 
far into the country of the Iroquois. He also sailed 
c)ver some of the great lakes. Later on there were two 
things that took the French through the country. 
These were trade and rehgion. The French began early 
to trade with the Indians, and they travelled long 
distances in search of furs, and built trading-houses 
and forts far away from Quebec. Among them were 
many priests who belonged to the religious society 
known as the Jesuits. These priests wished to make 
Christians of the Indians, and made long journeys for 
that purpose, though they knew that they might be 
put to death by the savages. 

Marquette's Discovery. — One of these priests was 
named Marquette. He had spent years among the 
Indians, and knew their languages, and had often 
heard them speak of a mighty western river that ran 
far to the south. He wanted to see this river, and so in 
the year 1673 he crossed Lake Michigan and made his 
way partly by land and partly in Indian canoes along 
little lakes and streams, until he reached the Wisconsin 
River. 

He had with him a friend named Joliet and several 
others. For seven days they floated in canoes down 
the Wisconsin, and then, to their joy, they found them- 
selves on the great river of the West, the mighty 
Mississippi. De Soto had discovered this river one 
hundred and thirty years before, and had followed it 
as far north as the State of Missouri. Marquette 
floated down it until he reached the mouth of the 



THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 101 

Arkansas River. Then he and his friends turned and 
paddled their canoes up the stream again to the point 
from which they had started. 

To What Marquette Owed His Success. — This was a 
remarkable journey for that early period. To see a 
few bold and daring men, hundreds of miles away from 
their countrymen, alone among tribes of fierce Indians, 
toiling through the forests of the West, and paddling 
in frail canoes along unknown and mighty lakes and 
streams, was to behold what has not often been seen 
in the history of the world. These men had no 
weapons in their hands. They had only the Bible. 
But their Christian love and charity made them safer 
among the savages than if they had carried swords 
and muskets and been clothed from head to foot in 
armor of steel. 

La Salle's Purpose. — The next person to reach the 
Mississippi was a French gentleman, the Chevalier de 
La Salle. He knew that the English and the Spanish 
were fast taking possession of the New World, and he 
made up his mind that the French should own the 
great western country. So he got together a body of 
men, and began to explore the land beyond Lake 
Michigan, and to build forts and leave soldiers in them. 
He had many battles with the Indians, but he was not 
to be turned from his purpose. 

A Wonderful Journey. — At last he started on 
the great journey which he had long had in mind. 
With a party of French and Indians he crossed 
the country, paddhng along the streams and carrying 
the canoes through the <^orf^sta until he reached the 
Mississippi. 



102 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

It was then the year 1682, more than two and a 
quarter centuries ago. Down the great stream they 
went, among tribes which had never before seen a 
white man. Everywhere La Salle took possession of 
the country for the king of France. In time they 
reached the mouth of the Mississippi, and there La 
Salle laid claim to all the vast country drained by that 
great stream and the streams that ran into it. This 
country he named Louisiana, and declared that it 
belonged to France, and to the king, Louis XIV. 

La Salle's Later Life. — The bold travellers then went 
up the river again until they reached their starting- 
point. La Salle now returned to France, where every 
one looked on him as a hero. The king gave him ships 
and men to plant a colony at the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi, and the adventurers sailed joyfully away. 

But their journey ended very sadly. They could 
not find the entrance to the Mississippi, and landed at 
a place in Texas. Here La Salle built a fort, and then 
started with part of the men towards the Mississippi. 
The journey was a terrible one. The river was 
reached, and La Salle tried to make his way to Can- 
ada for help, but on the way he was killed by some 
of his men. And so ended the life of one of the 
greatest of American explorers. 

The End of the Colony. — Some of the men reached 
Canada and told their story, and a party was sent to 
Texas to save those in the fort. But when they got 
there the men were dead and the fort was a ruin. The 
Spaniards, who claimed Texas as theirs, had found 
them and put them all to death. This was the sad 
end of La Salle's great enterprise. 



THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 103 

Succeeding Events. — But the French were not dis- 
couraged. Another colony was sent in 1699 which 
made a settlement near the mouth of the Mississippi,, 
and before many years New Orleans and other towns 
w^ere laid out. These towns were very far away from 
the French settlements on the St. Lawrence River. 
Thousands of miles of land and water lay between them. 
Yet nearly the whole distance might be travelled by 
water along the great lakes of the North, the Missis- 
sippi River, and the streams which ran into it. The 
active French traders were not afraid to make long 
journeys, and many of them went in boats the whole 
way from Quebec to New Orleans. 

These explorers established military posts at many 
points along the great water-way. Traders settled 
around the forts and priests built churches near by, 
so that in time there was a little settlement at each fort. 

English and French in America. — All this went on 
for fifty years. Cities now stand where many of the 
French forts were built. But at that time there were 
not many French in America. In 1750 there were 
fifteen times as many English as French in the New 
World. In the country east of the Mississippi and 
south of the great lakes there were only about seven 
thousand five hundred Frenchmen, who were thinly 
spread over a great territory. 

The Ohio Valley. — The English were now making 
their way to the West. A company was formed, 
called the Ohio Company, to buy up land and get 
settlers to move westward. The lands of this com- 
pany lay in Western Pennsylvania. When the French 
saw what was bemg done they were alarmed. They 



104 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

were afraid they would lose the country if they did 
not make haste. They began by building a strong 
fort on Lake Erie, where the city of Erie now stands. 
It became clear that before long they would have 
forts and soldiers along the Ohio River unless the 
English prevented them. 

Danger in the Air. — It was plain now that trouble 
would soon come. The great rivals had advanced till 
they were near together. Both of them claimed to 
own the valley of the Ohio. They were beginning a 
race to see who should first get possession of it, and 
that race could not go on very long before the dreadful 
work of war would begin. Whether the French or the 
English should own the great basin of the Ohio and 
the Mississippi was soon to be settled by the sword and 
the cannon, and by the death of thousands of men. 

The Old Owners of the Land. — At this time neither of 
the rival peoples had any settlements in the valley of 
the Ohio, the only whites west of the mountain range 
being a few daring trappers and pioneers, until the 
sparsely peopled posts of the French on the Mississippi 
and in the region of the Great Lakes was reached. In 
this vast territory the red men dwelt supreme, their 
homes uninvaded and the land their own. Not a 
dream had come to them of peril from the white-faced 
strangers who had descended like a swarm of locusts 
upon the eastern lands. The primitive state of affairs 
which had lasted for thousands of years still prevailed, 
with little to show that within half a century more the 
locust-hke swarm of strangers would spread over these 
wide plains, and the homes which the Indians so long 
had known would be theirs no more. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 105 

2. GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

Early Wars. — There had been fighting in America 
between the Enghsh and French two or three times 
before. Every time a war broke out in Europe between 
these nations the settlers in America began to kill one 
another. In these wars most of the fighting was done 
by the Indians. We have already told how they 
attacked the settlements in New England and New 
York and mu^-dered the people. 

The Action of Virginia. — But now a war was to have 
its beginning in America. The French and English 
stood face to face, like two dogs ready to fly at each 
other's throats. It was not long before the struggle 
began. Virginia claimed the country to which the 
French w^ere sending their pioneers, and the governor 
of Virginia thought it was time to ask them what they 
proposed to do, and to tell them that the land they 
were taking belonged to his colony. 

George Washington. — Governor Dinwiddle soon 
picked out a messenger for this duty. This was a 
young man named George Washington, who was then 
only a little over twenty-one years old. He had been 
born in 1732, and it was now 1753. But he was known 
to be active and prudent. He had been a land sur- 
veyor in' the wilderness, and was used to hardship. 
So Washington was chosen to go to the West and ask 
the French what they intended to do, and to warn 
them that they were on Enghsh land, for they had 
now built forts south of Lake Erie. 

George Washington was born to be a great man, 
and he had shown this while he was still a boy. Among 



106 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

his school-mates he was the same as he was among his 
'Countrymen afterwards. He settled all their disputes, 
.and he would not let anything take place that was not 
just and fair. Whatever he had to do he did well. 
The books of exercises which he wrote at school are 
remarkable for their neatness and carefulness. When 
he was older he became a land surveyor, and his surveys 
^re among the most accurate ever made. Later in life 
he managed his own lands, packed and shipped his own 
tobacco and flour, and kept his own books. His books 
may still be seen. They were wonderfully well kept. 

Both as boy and man Washington was strictly hon- 
est and truthful. When his flour came into foreign 
ports the government agents did not inspect it. His 
name on the barrel was enough. It was well known 
that there was no lie in the Washington stamp. It 
would be well for the country if all public men would 
stamp their characters with the Washington stamp. 
This young man was destined to do a great work for 
America. We have now the first part of his public life 
to describe, but his name will often again come into our 
book. 

Washington's Journey. — The journey from Virginia 
to the French forts was a difficult one, for the country 
was wild and without roads, and it was the cold winter 
season. Washington went up the Potomac River till 
he reached the streams that flow into the Ohio. He 
followed these till he came to the forts and met the 
French commander. The Frenchman treated him 
very politely, but would not promise to leave the 
countr}^ This was the word that Washington brought 
back td Virginia. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 107 

The journey homeward was terrible; much of it lay 
through the wild wintry forest. The rivers were full 
of broken ice, and had to be crossed on rafts. In cross- 
ing the Alleghany River, Washington was thrown mto 
the water, and had to spend the night on an island, 
wet through and nearly frozen. At last he got back 
home with the answer of the French commander. 

Fort Du Quesne.— Both sides saw that no time was 
to be lost. The French were now on the Alleghany 
River not far from the Ohio. The Ohio Company 
decided to build a fort at a point which Washington 
had selected for this purpose. This was where the 
two rivers that form the Ohio come together, and 
where the city of Pittsburg now stands. The governor 
of Virginia sent to this point a party who began to 
build. But the French, who had come in canoes 
down the Alleghany, saw what was being done and 
drove the English workmen away, finishing the fort 
themselves. They gave it the name of Fort Du Quesne. 
That was the first step towards the war that followed. 
Fort Necessity.— At this time Washington was march- 
ing towards the place with about four hundred men 
who had been enUsted in Virginia. On the way they 
met a party of French soldiers, and there was a fight 
in which Washington was victorious. But he was m a 
dangerous position, for many French soldiers were 
now in that country, so he built a small fort which 
he called Fort Necessity. The fort was soon sur- 
rounded by a large body of French and Indians, and 
the Virginians had to surrender. This took place on 
July 4, 1754. Though Washington had surrendered 
to a much larger force he did so on the honorable 



108 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

terms that he and his men should keep their arms and 
effects and go home unmolested. His skill and prud- 
ence in this affair gave much pleasure to the people 
of Virginia, and the governor made him commander 
of all the Virginia soldiers. 




A Night Council at Fort Necessity. 

England and France. — During this time the English 
and French were at peace in other lands. The first 
part of the war was fought by the people of America 
only. But soon England and France were at war in 
Europe also and began to send soldiers across the ocean 
to help the colonists. An English army was sent to 
Virginia, under an officer named General Braddock. 

General Braddock. — Braddock knew very well how to 
carry on war in Europe, but he knew nothing at all about 
fighting with the Indians, and he was too proud to let any 
one tell him. So he and his army, with some Virginians 
under Washington, set out to drive the French from Fort 
Du Quesne, marching slowly through the woods, making 
roads as they went, and wasting a great deal of time. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 109 

By the time they got near the French fort several 
months had passed. Yet there were not many French 
there, and the Indians were not in a very good humor 
for fighting: so if Braddock had acted with common 
prudence he might soon have had the fort. But he 
knew too much to hsten to anybody, and thus he got 
his army into trouble. 

Braddock*s Defeat. — Washington wanted to go ahead 
with his Virginians and drive the Indians from the 
woods; but Braddock would not let him, and he 
marched on, with banners flying and drums beating, 
until his army was in a deep ravine with steep banks 
and thick woods on each side. These woods were full 
of French and Indians in ambush. 

Suddenly the hidden enemy began to fire. The 
soldiers were taken completely by surprise, and fell 
dead and wounded on every side. The Virginians 
under Washington knew what they were about, and 
got behind trees to fight; but Braddock would not 
let his soldiers do the same thing, but kept them in 
their ranks and made them stand still to be killed. 
They fired blindly into the woods, but did no harm 
to their foes, while hundreds of them were slain. 
When they could stand this no longer they turned and 
fled for their lives. Washington with his Virginians 
kept back the enemy, or many more of the British 
soldiers would have been slaughtered. It was the 
worst defeat in the early history of America. 

The Result of the Battle. — The battle had lasted three 
hours, and seven hundred out of twelve hundred men 
were killed. Braddock was mortally wounded, and all 
his officers were killed or wounded. Washington was 



110 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

the only officer that was not hurt, and he had two horses 
shot under him, while four bullets went through his 
coat. Long afterwards an old Indian chief said that 
he had fired many times at Washington during the 
battle, but that the young American brave bore a 
charmed life and could not be touched by his bullets. 

The Indian Raids. — This defeat was a serious one 
for the colonies. The Ohio region was left to the 
French, while the Indians, who thought the English 
cowards, began to attack the settlements and murder 
all they could. All through the western part of Vir- 
ginia the people had to flee for safety; their houses 
were burned, and the rifle and the tomahawk brought 
death to many of them. Washington was kept busy 
in fighting with the savage foes, and did this with great 
skill and courage, but he had a difficult task. 

The Fort Captured. — Three years afterwards another 
expedition was sent to take Fort Du Quesne, Washing- 
ton being with it. By this time the French had got 
the worst of the war, and did not feel able to hold the 
fort. But the English commander had lost so much 
time on the way that he was about to march back 
without coming near the fort, when Washington 
asked if he might go ahead with his Virginians. When 
told he might do so he hurried forward, but the French 
did not wait for him. They set fire to the fort and 
fled down the river in their canoes. 

The contest for the Valley of the Ohio thus ended in 
victory for the English. The French gave it up to 
their opponents, and never laid claim to it again. It 
was during this time that Washington learned the art 
of war of which he was soon to make such excellent use. 



THE WAR IN THE NORTH 111. 

3. THE WAR IN THE NORTH. 

The Capture of Louisburg. — The war which had' 
begun on the Ohio soon spread to other parts of the- 
country, and we must tell what took place elsew^here. 
There w^as much hard fighting in the north between 
New York and New England and the French settle- 
ments in Canada. The British fleet also took part in 
the war. The French had a very strong fortress at the^ 
town of Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton. 
They thought that no force could capture it, but they 
were mistaken in this. It had been captured in 1745,. 
in an earlier war, by a body of New England soldiers. 
At the end of that war it w^as given back to the French,, 
but in 1758 it was again attacked by a strong Enghsh. 
fleet and forced to surrender. The Enghsh never 
gave it up again. 

Acadia. — The country which we now know as Nova. 
Scotia and New Brunswick was called Acadia by the 
French. It was settled by people of French descent,, 
many of whom had fine farms, and others lived by- 
hunting and trapping. The peninsula of Nova Scotia, 
had been taken from the French by the Enghsh in 
1710, and was still held by them; but it had very few 
English settlers, and its people did not like to be under- 
English rule. 

The French Forts Taken. — The northern part of 
Acadia was still held by the French, and when the war 
began they built several forts on the Bay of Fundy, 
and got ready to try to drive the English from the 
country. But the English attacked these forts and 
took all of them. While the fighting was going on many 



112 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 



of the Acadians helped the French. The Enghsh did 
not Hke this. They said that they would not have 
spies and enemies in their own land, and that the 
people must take the oath of allegiance to England, 
and be ready to fight in the Enghsh armies if they 
should be needed. 




Expulsion of the Acadians. 

This the Acadians would not do. All their feelings 
were with the French, and they would not help the 
English. Then the Enghsh said that they should be 
all sent out of the country, since they would not sub- 
mit to the government. 

The Acadians Expelled. — Most of the Acadians were 
quiet and good citizens, but very many of them were 
seized and marched to the sea-shore, where they were 



THE WAR IN THE NORTH 113 

put on board ships and sent away to the different 
Enghsh colonies. Some of them fought with the 
English and drove them away, but several thousand 
were taken from their homes and sent to live among 
strangers. Their houses were burned and their farms 
ruined to keep them from coming back. 

This was a very cruel act. The English had reason 
to be angry with those Acadians who acted as spies 
and enemies; but most of the people were quiet and 
industrious, and all their crime was that they would not 
take an oath to bear arms against their countrymen. 
In time manv of those who had been sent awav returned 
and took the oath of allegiance to England; but others 
suffered many hardships, and died in foreign lands. It 
is not easy to believe that this cruelty was necessary. 

From Canada to New York. — We have spoken in a 
former chapter of the great water-way by which the 
French could get from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. 
There is another water-way, that which leads from the 
St. Lawrence River to Lake Champlain and Lake 
George, and by way of the Hudson River to New York 
Bay. It was this route that Champlain had taken 
when he first set out to fight the Indians, and it waa 
along these bodies of water that the remainder of the 
fighting in the present w^ar took place. 

The French Defences. — The French had built forts 
along the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, and also 
at Crown Point, on the w^estern side of Lake Cham- 
plain, and at Ticonderoga, at the northern end of 
Lake George. From these points they could easily 
send soldiers into New York and New England, so 
the English decided to try to take the forts. 



114 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

The Battle of Lake George. — The English army in 
New York was led by General Johnson, a man who had 
much influence with the Indians. Many of these 
joined his army, for the Iroquois tribes had hated the 
French ever since they had fought with Champlain. 
While Johnson was marching north the French were 
marching south, and the two armies met at the south- 
ern end of Lake George. Here a battle took place in 
which the French were badly defeated: Hundreds of 
them were killed and the rest driven back. Johnson 
did not go on to capture the French forts, but stayed 
where he was, and built a stronghold which he called 
Fort William Henry. 

The French Successes. — During the next two or 
three years the French were everywhere successful. 
They captured Fort William Henry in 1757, and a 
terrible event took place there. The English were 
promised their lives if they would give up the fort, 
but as soon as they marched out the Indians fell upon 
them with tomahawk and scalping-knife and mur- 
dered many of them in cold blood. 

Attack on Ticonderoga. — The next year General 
Abercrombie attacked Fort Ticonderoga with a strong 
army. But the French defended themselves bravely, 
and the English were forced to retreat in haste, after 
they had lost two thousand men. 

The Turning of the Tide. — The war had now lasted 
for four years, and the French had been successful at 
nearly every point. They had held their forts on Lake 
Champlain and Lake George, and on the Ohio, and had 
defeated the English in nearly every battle. The 
English were much the stronger in numbers, and all 



THE WAR IN THE NORTH 115 

they needed was good leaders. With these they would 
be sure to gain the victory. 

In the year 1758 the tide turned. The English took 
several ot the French forts, and in 1759 took several 
others. Fort Du Quesne was taken, as we have told, 
and also Ticonderoga and Crown Point and the forts 
on Lake Ontario and the Niagara River. The French 
were driven out of what the English claimed as their 
territory, and were confined to Canada. The English 
next made up their minds to try to drive the French 
from Canada. 

The Siege of Quebec. — Canada had two important 
cities, Montreal and Quebec. Quebec was not easy to 
capture. It was built on the top of -a high and steep 
hill, and was surrounded with strong walls, behind 
which were more than eight thousand men, com- 
manded by the Marquis de Montcalm. 

General Wolfe, a brave young English officer, was 
sent with an army of eight thousand men against this 
city, and for two or three months tried to take it, but 
he could not even get to the top of the hill on which it 
was built. At length he learned that there was a nar- 
row path up the face of the bluff. One dark night he 
took his men in boats down the St. Lawrence River, 
and by the break of day they had climbed up this steep 
path and dragged their cannon to the top of the hill. 

The Capture of the City. — Montcalm was astonished 
when he saw the English army before the walls of the 
city. If he had stayed behind these walls they might 
not have been able to take it. But he hastily led his 
men out, thinking he could drive the Enghsh over the 
precipice before they all got up the hill. He was sadly 



116 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 



mistaken. In the battle that followed the English gained 
a complete victory and Quebec fell into their hands. 

General Wolfe received a mortal wound, and as he 
lay dying he heard loud cries of ^^They fly! they fly!'' 
''Who fly?" he asked. ''The French," was the answer. 
"God be praised!'' he replied, "I die happy." Mont- 




The Siege of Quebec. 

calm also fell, and when told that he must die, he said, 
"So much the better; I shall not live to see the sur- 
render of Quebec." 

The End of the War. — Montreal was taken the next 
year, and soon the war came to an end. A treaty was 
made in 1763, by which France gave up to England all 
the country held by it east of the Mississippi River, and 
to Spain all the country west of this river. This was 
a great event for the EngHsh colonies. North America 
now belonged to two nations only, England and Spain, 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 117 

Pontiac*s Rebellion. — But there were many French 
in Canada and they made some further trouble. There 
was a bold and brave Indian chief named Pontiac, 
who wished to drive the English back from the Ohio 
and the lakes, and perhaps from the whole country. 
The French secretly incited him to attempt this. He 
formed a league among several tribes, and a sudden 
attack was made on the English forts. 

They took one fort by the trick of playing a game of 
ball before it. When the ball fell near the gate of the 
fort they rushed after it and into the open gate, near 
which sat their squaws, with tomahawks hidden under 
their blankets. These the warriors seized and killed 
nearly all the soldiers. The fort at Detroit was besieged 
for five months, and then the Indians gave up the 
siege. Several other forts were taken, but in the end 
the Indians were everywhere defeated. 

Thus ended the long struggle between the English and 
the French, which had continued, at intervals, for sev- 
enty-five years. The English were everywhere victorious, 
and were now to have a few vears of rest from war. 



PART III.— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

1. How far back from the coast did the English colonies extend? 
How far did their claims extend? Who held the back country? 
Where had the French forts and settlements? What two things 
induced the French to explore the country? For what purpose did 
the traders travel? For what purpose the Jesuits? Describe Mar- 
quette 's journey. Who else sought to explore the Mississippi? 
In what year did he reach the Mississippi? Describe his journey. 
How was La SaUe received in France? Where did his colony land? 
What was his fate and that of his colony? Where did the French 



118 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

make a settlement in 1699? How could the French get from Quebec 
to New Orleans? How were settlements formed along the route? 
How many more English than French were in America in 1750? 
What was the purpose of the Ohio Company? Where did the 
French build a fort? What did the rival peoples claim? 

2. What did the Governor of Virginia decide to do? Whom did 
he select as messenger? How old was Washington then? Why 
was he chosen? What can we say about the school-life of Washing- 
ton? What did he do in older life? How were his books kept? 
How was his flour received in foreign lands? Describe Washington's 
journey. How did the French commander receive him? What 
did the Ohio Company decide to do? What action did the French 
take? How did the first fight take place? Whj did Washington 
build Fort Necessity? What followed? What general did England 
send to America? Describe his march. How did Braddock lead 
his army on? Describe the battle and defeat. What did an old 
Indian chief say about Washington? What followed this defeat? 
How was Fort Du Quesne taken? What did this war teach 
Washington? 

3. When was Louisburg captured the first time? When the 
second time? What was the country of Nova Scotia and New 
Brunsv/ick called by the French? What part of it was taken by the 
English in 1710? What part was still held by the French? What 
did the English ask the Acadians to do? Why did the Acadians 
refuse? Tell how the Acadians were expelled. What water-way 
leads from Canada to New York? Where did the French build 
forts? What was the result of the battle of Lake George? What 
fort did General Johnson build? What terrible event took place 
when this fort was captured by the French? Describe Abercrombie's 
attack on Ticonderoga. How long were the French successful? 
When did the tide of success turn? What victories had the English? 
Which were the two important cities of Canada? Who led an army 
against Quebec? How did he get his men to the summit of the bluff? 
What did Montcalm do? Who gained the victory? What were 
Wolfe's last words? What were Montcalm's last words? What did 
England gain by the treaty of peace? What did Pontidc hope to 
do? Describe his attacks on the forts. 



PART IV. 

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



1. THE TYRANNY OF ENGLAND. 

The story of the Revolution. — The story we have 
now to tell is one that every American should hear 
with pride. It is the story of how the people of America 
were ill treated by England, and how they declared 
they would not submit to be made slaves of, and 
fought bravely until they gained their liberty. They 
suffered dreadfully, and thousands of them lost their 
lives, but they would not yield, and struggled on and 
on until England was forced to give up the war and 
sign a treaty of peace with free America. This is what 
is known as the American Revolution. 

How the Americans were Treated. — What was the 
character of this bad treatment of the Americans? 
That is what we have next to tell. They w^ere ill-used 
in a good many ways. Governors were sent to them 
from England, some of whom acted as if they were 
kings and the people slaves. But what made the 
Americans most angry was that they were not allowed 
to trade where they pleased or make the articles they 
needed for their own use. 

The Navigation Laws. — The colonists had built 

many ships, and for a while they sent out their goods 

to foreign countries and got other goods in return. 

But the merchants of England did not like this. They 

wanted all this trade for themselves. So they had 

119 



120 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

laws passed which said that the Americans should not 
trade with any country but England. All their rice, 
tobacco, and other products must be sent there and 
whatever they wanted in return must be brought from 
there. But the English would not pay as much for 
these goods as would other countries, so the Ameri- 
cans lost much of their profit. 

Then another law was made which said that no goods 
should be carried to or from England in American ships. 
All trade with England must be done in English ships. 
The American ships might rot at their wharves. Even 
the trade from one colony to another was partly stopped. 

Restriction of Manufactures. — At the same time the 
people of America were not allowed to make anything 
for themselves. There was much iron dug from the 
mines, but it must all be sent to England, and pay a 
tax for going there. Then it was made into useful 
articles and sent back, and had to pay another tax. 
It was the same with other goods than those made of 
iron. The laws became so severe that a farmer could 
not even cut down a tree large enough for a ship mast 
on his own land without permission from the officers 
of the king. 

At first the laws were not so strict as this. But as 
time went on, and the English merchants and manu- 
facturers saw that the Americans were growing rich, 
they had the laws made more severe, until the Ameri- 
cans were allowed to do very little besides farming, 
and had to get everything but their food from England, 
\n English ships. 

The Laws Evaded. — All this was hard to bear. When 
men have a chance to grow rich they do not like to 



THE TYRANNY OF ENGLAND 121 

work hard to make other men rich, while they stay 
poor. Many of the people of America refused to sub- 
mit to the Enghsh laws. Some of them made and sold 
goods in spite of the laws. Others who owned ships 
sent them to foreign countries, and brought back goods 
on which no tax or duty was paid to the government. 
Writs of Assistance. — This is what is called smug- 
gling. The officers of the government tried to put a 
stop to it. A law was passed which said that the king's 
officers might enter and search any house in which 
they thought smuggled goods might be hidden. The 
papers authorizing this were called ''Writs of Assist- 
ance." Nothing could have made the people more 
angry than this. They said that ''every man's house 
is his castle," and that no officer had a right to enter 
a dwelling-house On mere suspicion. Thus, as every 
one may see, there was getting to be very bad feel- 
ing between the Americans and the English. 

The Right of Taxation. — But the resistance of the 
people only made the English government more 
severe. As the merchants and manufacturers of Eng- 
land were growing rich from the labor of the Ameri- 
cans, the government thought it also ought to have 
more American money than it was receiving. The 
French and Indian War had cost England a great deal 
of money, and the English government claimed that as 
this money had been spent for the good of the colo- 
nies, they should help to pay it back. The colonies 
were paying much money to it already in the way of 
the duty on all goods sent by ships into or out of the 
country. This was an indirect tax, but the govern- 
ment claimed the right to lay a direct tax also. 



122 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

The American Reply. — The people of the colonies 
answered that they were willing to tax themselves and 
pay such money as they thought reasonable to the 
government, but that no one else had the right to 
tax them. They would not pay taxes levied by the 
English Parliament, because they had no one to speak 
for them in that Parliament. If the government 
wanted to tax them it should let them send repre- 
sentatives to look after their interests. 

The Principle of Taxation. — All this was right and 
just. Every Englishman at home claimed that privi- 
lege, and the Americans thought they ought to have 
it too. But the government would not listen to them. 
It was bent on forcing them to pay such taxes as it 
chose to levy without giving them a voice in the 
making of the laws. The rulers of England did not 
know to what this was likely to lead. They had no 
idea how indignant the Americans were becoming. 

The Stamp Act. — The first direct tax law was passed 
in 1765. It was called the ''Stamp Act," and declared 
that all legal papers drawn in America, such as deeds, 
bills, contracts, and the like, must be made on stamped 
paper, which paper was to be sold by the tax collec- 
tors. There was nothing very wrong in this. Laws of 
this kind have long existed in England. We have had 
them in the United States, and have paid the tax 
cheerfully. It was the way the law was passed that 
made all the trouble. It was as if England had said, 
''We intend to tax you when and how we please, and 
you shall have nothing to do with it except to pay the 
taxes." This was the beginning of the dispute which 
in ten years was to bring the country into war. 



THE TYRANNY OF ENGLAND 123 

The whole people grew angry when they heard of 
this law. They said that they had had nothing to do 
with making it and that they would not submit to it. 
Patrick Henry, a great orator of Virginia, declared 
that the people, and only the 
people, had a right to tax the 
people. They would vote taxes 
in their own AssembHes, if they 
were asked to, but no other body 
of law-makers had the right to 
vote taxes for them to pay. 

Repeal of the Stamp Act. — 
The stamps were sent to Amer- 
ica, but the people would not 
use them. In some places they 
burned them. In others they 

, 1 , rr 1^ Patrick Henry's Chair. 

forced the stamp oincers to 

resign, or made images of them and burned these images 
before their doors. They declared that till the act was 
repealed they would not use Enghsh goods, but would 
make their own. They would all wear homespun 
clothes, and would eat no mutton, so that they could 
have more wool to weave into cloth. 

Agents were sent to London to try to have the 
Stamp Act -repealed. Benjamin Frankhn was one of 
these. He did much to let the members of Parha- 
ment know how the American people felt. In 1766 the 
Stamp Act was repealed, because it was clear that it 
could not be enforced. No American would buy a 
sheet of the stamped paper. 

Soldiers Sent to America.— The Enghsh king and 
government were not ready to admit that they had no 




124 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

right to tax the Americans. Taxes were laid in 1767 
on teas, glass, paints, and some other articles, and the 
dangerous step was taken of sending soldiers to Amer- 
ica as an aid in carrying out the laws. The Americans 
were told they must pay for the support of these 
soldiers. They answered that this was not just. 
They did not want to be treated like a nation that 
had been conquered in war. Their protest made the 
king very angry, and he sent two regiments of soldiers 
to Boston to support the tax officers. This was done 
because the people of Boston were very violent against 
the new taxes. 

The Boston Massacre. — The presence of the soldiers 
made the Bostonians more angry still, and disputes 
and quarrels arose between the people and the soldiers. 
One day, in 1770, a fight took place between some 
soldiers and a party of the citizens of Boston. The 
soldiers fired and several persons were killed. This 
added much to the indignation of the people. They 
called this affair the ^^ Boston Massacre," and as the 
news of it spread over the country the colonists every- 
where began to think of fighting for their rights. 

The Tax on Tea. — For several years things went on 
in this way, the people growing constantly more angry 
with the English government. As they would not pay 
the taxes, Parhament tried another plan. They took 
off all the taxes except a small one on tea. This was 
such a trifle that they thought no one would object 
to it. They did not perceive that it was not the money 
that the Americans cared for, but the principle. As 
soon as the tax was laid the colonists refused to buy 
tea, though they had before used a great deal of it. 



THE TYRANNY OF ENGLAND 



125 



The Boston Tea^Party. — The king, George III., 
made up his mind to force them to take the tea. He 
wanted to let them see that his word was law and 
that he was their lord and master. Ship-loads of tea 
were sent to the American ports. But the people, 
who were then using the leaves of various plants to 
make tea of, would not have the English tea. In 
New York and Philadelphia the cap- 
tains were ordered to take their tea 
back again to England. In Charleston 
the tea was stored in damp ware- 
houses, where it soon moulded and 
became useless. In Annapolis the tea 
was burned. In Boston the governor 
refused to send back the tea, but the 
people would not let it be unloaded. 
In the end a party of young men 
dressed like Indians ran to the 
wharves, rushed on board the ves- 
sels, broke open the chests, and emp- 
tied all the tea into the harbor. 
This is what has been called the 
''Boston Tea-Party." It put an end 
to the effort of Parliament to tax the Americans. 

The Boston Port Bill. — When the news of what had 
been done reached England the king was furious and 
Parliament decided that Boston should be severely 
puni'shed. So a bill was passed called the ''Boston 
Port Bill." It forbade any vessel to enter or leave 
Boston, except those with wood or provisions, and 
even these had trouble to get in. The whole trade of 
the port was cut off, and the people suffered severely. 




Boston Tea-Part r. 



126 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Threats of War. — This law took effect on June 1, 
1774. It made the people of the whole country very 
indignant. Provisions and money were sent to Boston 
from all the colonies. Instead of the Americans being 
frightened, they were more determined than ever. 
They had long been thinking of fighting for their 
rights, and they now got their arms ready and formed 
companies prepared to march at a minute's warning. 
These were called '^ minute-men." In September, 1774, 
the colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia, to meet 
and talk over their troubles. This assembly was called 
the First Continental Congress. It sent an address to 
the king, and advised the people to stop all trade with 
England till the tax laws were repealed. It declared 
that the people of America had the right to govern 
and to tax themselves, and that they would not sub- 
mit to force, but would defend themselves against 
oppression. Such was the state of the country at the 
beginning of the year 1775. 

2. THE WORK OF THE MINUTE-MEN. 

Growth of the Colonies. — We have next to describe 
the greatest event in American history, that by which 
the people of the English settlements in America 
became free, and began their growth from a group of 
weak colonies into one of the noblest nations on the 
face of the earth. 

It was now a little more than a hundred and fifty 
years since the English had first settled in America. 
In that century and a half the colonies had grown to 
be strong and were becoming united. There were more 
than two millions of people in them, and they were fast 



THE WORK OF THE MINUTE-MEN 127 

growing rich and prosperous. Since the close of the 
French and Indian War they had made great progress. 

Ten Years of Tyranny. — In 1765 very few people in 
America thought of becoming free from England. In 
1775 most of the people of the country wanted to 
become free. That was what England had done in 
ten years by trying to make slaves of the Americans. 

The Feeling of the People. — At the opening of the 
eventful year 1775, Boston was the centre of the 
hostile feeling. The king had ruined its business, 
taken from many of its people the means of living, 
and filled it with soldiers. But all through New 
England the people were getting ready to fight, drill- 
ing as soldiers, and collecting arms, gunpowder, and 
other warlike articles in convenient places. The whole 
country was like a barrel of gunpowder, ready to 
explode if fire touched it. We have now to tell how the 
English applied the fire. 

The Stores at Concord. — The Americans had collected 
some military stores at the town of Concord, near 
Boston. General Gage, who commanded the soldiers 
in Boston, determined to destroy these. So one night 
he sent out a body of troops to march secretly to Con- 
cord and destroy them before the people could know 
what was being done. He did not understand the 
spirit of the people he was dealing with. It is very 
easy to throw a stone into a hornet's nest, but it is 
not so easy to get away from the stings of the hornets. 
This General Gage was soon to find out. 

Paul Revere's Ride. — The people of Boston were 
watching the soldiers. They had some idea of the 
plans of the British, and were ready for them. As 



128 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



soon as the troops began to move a signal light was^ 
hung in a church window. On the other side of the 
river a man named Paul Revere was watching for this 
light. The moment he saw it he mounted his horse 

and rode at full 
is^^^^^SHI^^^^^^^^^^^^ speed through the 

country. At every 
house and village 
he woke the people 
and told them the 
British were com- 
ing. At once the 
men seized their 
rifles and powder- 
horns and hastened 
to the appointed 
place of meeting. 
By daybreak a 
party of them were 
collected in the vil- 
lage of Lexington, 
on the road to 
Concord. Samuel 
Adams and John 
Hancock, two of 
the patriot leaders, were at Lexington, and the British 
officers had orders to arrest them. But they were 
warned by Revere and made their escape before the 
troops arrived. 

The Fight at Lexington.— The soldiers reached Lex- 
ington about four o'clock in the morning of April 19, 
1775. There were two or three hundred of them, and 




Paul Revere's Ride. 



THE WORK OF THE MINUTE-MEN 



129 



they found about sixty armed farmers drawn up on the 
green. " Disperse, ye rebels/' cried the Enghsh officer. 
" Lay down your arms and disperse." As they did not 
disperse the soldiers fired, and seven of the Americans 
fell dead. Others were wounded. That was the first 
blood shed in the Revolutionary War. With that fire of 
musketry began the war that was to set America free. 




Battle of Lexington. 

The Retreat from Concord.— The soldiers hurried on 
to Concord, where they destroyed all the supplies they 
could find. But the Americans had been busy during 
the night carrying their stores to the woods. A strong 
force of minute-men had gathered at Concord. The 
British fired on these and the Americans fired back. 
Several of the soldiers were killed and wounded, and 
the others retreated in disorder. The Americans were 
too strong for them. 

But it was when the soldiers began to march back 

to Boston that they found the hornets were out of 
9 




130 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIOTV 

their nest and ready to sting them. They had sixteen 
miles to go, and all along this distance the minute- 
men were gathered behind trees and stone walls, firing 
on them at every step. The British fell like dead leaves. 
At last they ran in a panic. Few or none of them 
would have got back, only that news of this trouble 
had been received and another strong force of soldiers 

marched out and met 
them at Lexington. 

There were eighteen 
hundred of them now: 
but the farmers fired 
on them all the way to 
Boston, and they were 
glad enough to get 

Fight on Concord Bridge. under shcltcr of thc 

guns of their ships of war. They had been saying to 
themselves that the Americans were cowards and would 
not fight. They were not likely to say that again. 

The People in Arms. — The day before April 19 the 
country had been at peace. The day after it was at 
war. The story of the fight went like wildfire through 
the land. Everywhere the farmers left their ploughs 
and seized their rifles. In hundreds and thousands 
they hurried towards Boston. Soon there were twenty 
thousand men around that city. The British had 
made their last march out of Boston by land. When 
they went again they would have to go as they had 
come, in their ships by sea. 

Capture of Ticonderoga. — The bold fellows who lived 
in the hill country of Vermont, who were known as 
" Green Mountain Boys. " were quick to move. Ethan 



THE WORK OF THE MINUTE-MEN 131 

Allen, one of their leaders, gathered a strong party 
of them and led them to Fort Ticonderoga, on Lake 
Ghamplain, which they captured, May 10, without fir- 
ing a gun. The fort at Crown Point was taken by 
another Vermonter, and many cannon were captured. 

Breed's Hill Fortified. — Such were the opening events 
of the war. Now we must tell of its first great battle. 
One dark night the Americans set out to build a fort 
of earth on Bunker Hill, near Boston; but they found 
that Breed's Hill was still nearer, so they built their 
fort on that. When day broke, June 17, the British 
saw that there was a long wall of earth where none 
had been visible the night before. Behind this wall 
lay, men with rifles in their hands. There was only 
one thing to be done: they must drive the Americans 
out of these earthworks or they would themselves be 
driven out of Boston. 

The Battle of Bunker Hill. — The ships began firing, 
but the Americans went on with their work. Then three 
thousand soldiers crossed the river 
in boats and began to march up the 
hill. The American militia, under 
General Putnam and Colonel Pres- 
cott, lay behind their bank of earth 
and saw these soldiers — some of the 
best trained in the world — marching 
steadily upward. No one had 
dreamed that raw volunteers could 

Putnam. 

stand before such veteran troops, yet 
the Amcx.cans did not flinch. '^Aim low. Don't fire 
till you can see the whites of their eyes," said the 
American general. So they waited till the soldiers 




132 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

were close to the works and then fired. Every shot 
told. Down w^ent dozens of men. No living beings 
could stand such a fire, and the soldiers turned and 
ran hastily down the hill. They had found out to their 
sorrow what American marksmen could do. 

They came on once more and were met w^ith a second 
terrible volley. Down the hill again they ran in a 
panic. Their officers had great trouble to get them to 
face a third time the American fire. But the Ameri- 
cans were now nearly out of powder. They fired once 
more, and then used their guns as clubs to drive back 
the soldiers. When the British found that the firing 
had stopped, they came on with the bayonet, while 
the ships fired cannon-balls into the works. The 
Americans now had to retreat. They were followed by 
the furious soldiers and many of them were killed in 
the retreat. But they had killed more than twice as 
many as they lost, and had taught the world that 
American militia were not afraid to fight British 
regulars. This first great conflict has become famous 
as '^The Battle of Bunker Hill." 

The Action of Congress. — We must tell more rapidly 
what followed. Another Congress, know^n as the 
Second Continental Congress, met at Philadelphia in 
May, 1775. There w^as much to be done now, for the 
country was at war. Laws had to be passed for the 
whole country, and preparations made to carry on the 
war, since the people were determined that it should 
go on. General Washington was made commander in 
chief of the army and money was voted for the 
purposes of the war. The people were willing enough 
to pay taxes to their own Congress, though they had 



THE WORK OF THE MINUTE-MEN 133 

refused to do so to the English Parhament. Their feel- 
ing was like that afterwards expressed in these words: 
'^Millions for defence; not one cent for tribute." 

Evacuation of Boston. — Now there was war in 
earnest. Washington drilled the army at Boston and 
did his best to make soldiers out of farmers. It took 
a long time to do this, and it was the spring of the next 
year before he was ready. Then one night he built 
strong earthworks on Dorchester Heights, south of 
Boston. The British general looked at these works 
and quickly saw that he could not take them without 
losing many of his men, and that he could not stay 
in Boston if he did not take them. He remembered 
what had happened at Bunker Hill and decided to 
leave. On March 17, 1776, his men were marched on 
board the vessels, which set sail for Halifax, never to 
return to Boston. The same day the Americans took 
possession of the city which they had so long besieged. 

The Attack of Quebec. — While this w^as going on the 
Americans tried to take Canada. Two armies were 
sent there, one under General Montgomery and one 
under General Arnold. Montreal was captured and 
the army marched to Quebec. This city proved too 
strong. General Montgomery was killed and General 
Arnold, who now took command, stayed there during the 
winter, but had to retreat the next spring. The British 
followed him down Lake Champlain and had a naval 
battle with him on that lake. The Americans had fancied 
that the Canadians would join them, but they refused 
to do so, and Canada remained a British province. 

Fort Moultrie Defended. — There is one more event of 
importance that took place at this time. The English 



134 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

government thought that it ought to make sure of the 
southern colonies. So in June a fleet was sent to 
Charleston, South Carolina. But it was soon found 
that the Southerners were as determined not to be 
slaves as the Northerners. Fort Moultrie, at the mouth 
of the harbor, was built of logs of the soft palmetto 
wood. The balls from the ships sunk in these and did 
little harm. Those from the fort did great damage 
to the ships. In the end the fleet had to turn and 
sail away. 

Brave Sergeant Jasper. — During this battle some- 
thing took place that is well worth telling. The flag- 
staff on the fort was cut by a ball, and the flag fell on 
the sand at the foot of the wall. A bold young sergeant, 
named Jasper, sprang down where the bullets were 
coming in like hail, seized the flag, and soon had it 
floating proudly again on the fort. This has always 
been looked upon as one of the bravest deeds of the 
whole war. 

Footsteps of Freedom. — And now we must finish this 
part of our story by telling what turned the war from 
a rebellion into a revolution. When the Americans 
began to fight, it was done to teach the king and his 
government that they would not pay taxes if they 
were not allowed to help make the laws. But many 
of them thought that America ought to be free, and 
as the war went on this feeling spread widely among 
the people. They quit fighting for their rights under 
the British government, and began to fight for freedom 
from that government. 

The Continental Congress was still in session at 
Philadelphia, and the desire for freedom grew as strong 



THE WORK OF THE MINUTE-MEN 



135 



among the delegates as it was among the people. 
The first motion for liberty was made on June 7, 1776, 
by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia He moved that 
the colonies, one and all, *' of right ought to be free 
and independent States.'^ 

The Declaration of Independence. — Five men were 
then appointed as a committee to draw up a Declara- 
tion of Independence. On this committee were such 
well-known men as Benjamin 
Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas 
Jefferson. Jefferson wrote the 
Declaration, which was imme- 
diately brought before Congress, 
and adopted by it on the 4th of 
July, 1776. All the members signed 
it, and this valuable old paper still 
exists, with their signatures to it. 

There is a legend that as soon 
as it had passed there rang out 

stirring peals from the bell of the old State-House, 
on which was the inscription, " Proclaim liberty 
throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof. '' 
The news had been told to the old bell-ringer, and he 
pulled at the rope with all his might, while every 
stroke of the bell seemed to send the word ^^ Liberty" 
ringing over the land. Some say that this is not true, 
but at any rate it is a pretty story. Everywhere the 
people rejoiced to learn that they had been declared 
free. The statue of King George, in New York, was 
thrown into the dir^ of the streets, and the arms of 
England were torn down from the public buildings 
oi the cities and burned in the streets, while the flag 




Jefferson. 



136 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

of Great Britain ceased to float anywhere in the new 
republic, for at that time there was probably not a 
British soldier on American soil. 

It was a grand declaration that had been made, 
and all lovers of liberty throughout the world heard 
of it with gladness. It said that a new nation was born 




Liberty Bell at Indepijndence Hall, Philadelphia. 

upon the earth, and that the people of America were 
no longer fighting for the right to tax themselves, but 
for the right to govern themselves. But many dark 
days were to pass before they could gain the privilege 
of doing so in peace.* 

* The first Declaration of Independence in America was made 
by a convention of delegates in Mecklenburg County, North Caro- 
lina m May, 1775. They were chosen by the militia of that county. 



THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 137 

3. THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 

The Meaning of the Declaration. — The people of 
America had declared that they were free and inde- 
pendent, but that did not make them so. They were 
to have years of hard fighting and great suffering 
before they could really become free. But now they 
had something of value to fight for. They were no 
longer troubled about paying taxes at the command 
of the English Parliament. They had declared that in 
future they would make their own laws, lay their own 
taxes, and carry on their own affairs, and that no 
other nation should rule them. That is what was 
meant by the Declaration of Independence, adopted 
on the 4th of July, 177G; and that is what has made 
the 4th of July ever since a day to be celebrated. 
It is the greatest day in the history of America. 

The Loss of New York. — After the Declaration the 
war went on more fiercely than before. The British 
had been driven out of Boston, so thev decided to 
take New York. Washington tried to defend it, but 
he did not have men enough, and after a hard battle 
on Long Island he had to retreat and give up the city. 
The British army held New^ York from that time till 
the end of the war. 

The Retreat Across New Jersey. — The country was 
now in a sad state. Washington's army was not half 

and were in session when the news of the battle of Lexington was 
received. They at once passed resolutions w^hich declared the colo- 
nies to be free from English rule and entitled to govern themselves 
This action was well received throughout W^estern North Carolina, 
and a copy of the resolutions was sent to Congress at Philadelphia. 



138 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

SO strong as that of his enemies. Very few of the men 
were trained soldiers. They were short of powder, 
gunS; provisions, and all that an army needs. It was 
now the autumn of 1776. Washington found that he 
could not hold his own against the British, so he had 
to retreat. He marched his poor, ragged, hungry 
men south across New Jersey, and as he went he burnt 
the bridges to keep the British back. When he got 
to the Delaware River, he took possession of all the 
boats that could be found, and had his army rowed 
across. The British quickly came up, but Washington's 
army was safe. There was a river between them and 
no boats that the British could use. 

The Feeling of the People. — The British were full of 
hope and joy, for they thought the fighting was nearly 
at an end, and settled down to pass the winter in peace. 
All through Europe it was believed that the American 
cause was ruined, and that the colonists would have 
to submit. Many of the Americans thought so too. 
They saw their army growing smaller every day, and 
knew that most of the men would go home on the 1st 
of January, as the time for which they had enlisted 
would end then. They had joined the army only for 
the year, and not many new men were coming to take 
their places. The people everywhere were disheart- 
ened, and many thought there was no chance of success. 

Washington Crosses the Delaware. — But there was 
one man who did not think so, and that man was George 
Washington. He waited till Christmas, and then led 
his men across the Delaware into New Jersey. It was a 
terrible crossing ; the weather was very cold, and the river 
full of cakes of floating ice. Yet he got the army across 



THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 



139 



and marched all night towards Trenton, where a British 
force was feasting and frolicking without the thought 
of an enemy. This force was made up of Hessians, — 
soldiers from Germany who had been hired from their 
rulers and sent over by England to fight the Americans. 

Trenton and Princeton. — It was early in the morn- 
ing when Washington reached the town. The Hessians 
were taken by surprise, many of them were killed and 
wounded, and a thousand taken prisoners. A few days 
afterwards Washington met another British force near 
Princeton and defeated them. These victories caused 
the British to draw back, and Washington remained in 
possession. They had a wonderful effect upon the 
Americans. Those who had been in despair now became 
full of hope. In Europe the feeling changed. It began 
to be thought that America would win, and everybody 
spoke of George Washington as the great hero of the age. 

Philadelphia Captured. — The year 
1777 was an important year of the 
war. In the Middle States the Ameri- 
cans lost ground, but farther north 
they gained a great victory. The 
British left New York, with a strong 
fleet and a large army, and sailed 
up Chesapeake Bay. Washington 
hastened to meet them, and a severe 
battle was fought on the Brandywine 
Creek, below Philadelphia, at which the Marquis de 
Lafayette, a distinguished French officer, an aide to 
General Washington, was severely wounded. The 
Americans were defeated and had to fall back, and 
the British army marched into Philadelphia. 




Lafayette. 



140 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



The Winter at Valley Forge. — Some other fighting 
took place, and there was a severe battle at German- 
town, near Philadelphia. But the British could not 
be driven from that city, and when winter came on 
the American army went into winter quarters at a 
place called Valley Forge, northwest of Philadelphia. 




Winter Camp at Valley Forge. 



This winter was the most terrible one of the whole 
war. The weather was very cold, and the men were 
nearly destitute of clothes and blankets to keep them 
warm and food to keep them alive. Some of them 
had to walk through the snow barefoot, their bleed- 
ing feet staining the snow red as they marched. When 
spring came many of the men were dead. Cold and 
hunger and sickness had been more fatal to them than 
the guns of the enemy. Yet those that lived were 



THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 141 

good patriots still, and as ready to fight for their 
country as before; and Washington never despaired. 

Burgoyne's March. — In the north, as we have said, 
the Americans had gained a great victory, and this 
gave spirit to the suffering army in Pennsylvania. 
A powerful British army had marched down from 
Canada by the old route of the French, that of Lake 
Champlain and Lake George. They thought they 
could cut off New England from New York, and thus 
divide the colonies into two parts. They took all the 
old forts, — Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and others. 
Another army was expected to come up the Hudson 
to meet them, a-ncl everything looked bad for the 
Americans. 

The Battle of Bennington. — But the men of that 
region were everywhere marching, rifle in hand, to 
defend their country. The Iroquois Indians had 
joined the British, but these were scared off and gave 
up the fight. The parties of the British sent out to 
collect food were attacked by the Americans. One of 
these parties was met at Bennington, Vermont, by 
General Stark, with his '^ Green Mountain Boys," 
and badly defeated. When the battle began Stark 
called out to his men, ''There are the red-coats. Before 
night they are ours, or Betty Stark is a widow." 
And he meant what he said; before night he had 
six hundred prisoners and the rest of the British were 
retreating in dismaj^ 

Surrender of Burgoyne. — It was not long before 
Burgoyne, the British commander, found that he had 
led his men into a trap from which he could not 
escape. He had gone so far south that he could 



142 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

not return, nor could he march any farther forward. 
The Americans were everywhere around him. His 
army was short of food, and he did not dare to send 
out parties in search of it, for fear they would be 
captured. He made two fierce attacks on the American 
earthworks, but could not take them. Finally he had 
to surrender his whole army to the Americans. This 
took place at Saratoga, October 17, 1777. It was one 
of the most important events of the war, and had a 
wonderful effect on the spirits of the Americans and 
on the feelings of the people of Europe. It was, in 
fact, the turning-point of the war. 

The Treaty with France. — The surrender of Burgoyne 
led France to make a treaty with America and send 
over a large fleet to help in the war. This fleet did little 
in the way of service, but it gave hope to the Americans, 
while its presence discouraged the English. Their 
government now offered to do away with all the laws 
to which the Americans objected, if they would lay 
dow^n their arms and surrender. This offer came too 
late. The Americans had determined to be free, and 
nothing less would satisfy them now. 

The Retreat from Philadelphia.— In 1778 the British 
in Philadelphia began to fear that if they stayed any 
longer they might be caught in as bad a trap as that 
which caught Burgoyne. The Americans w^ere gather- 
ing around them, and there was danger that the Dela- 
ware might be closed against their ships. So they 
started on a hasty march across New Jersey to New 
York. Washington followed them, fought with them 
at Monmouth^ and was prevented from defeating them 
by the uncalled for retreat of General Charles Lee. 



THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 143 

Mad Anthony Wayne. — During 1778 and 1779 there 
was not much done. A British fleet sailed south and 
took the city of Savannah. This was the first victory 
the British had gained in the southern States. In the 
north the Americans were victorious in one important 
fight. General Wayne, or ''Mad Anthony Wayne/' 
as he was afterwards called, made 
a sudden attack on Stony Point, 
a fort on the Hudson River. He 
took it with the bayonet, without 
firing a shot, and captured some 
very valuable stores. 

The Massacre of Wyoming. — One 
of the most dreadful events of the 
war took place in the summer of 
1778. A band of Indians, British, 

1 rn • 1 1 1 ^ i 1 Anthony Wayne. 

and lories made an attack on the 
beautiful valley of Wyoming, in northern Pennsyl- 
vania. They took the fort, which had in it only 
old men, women, and children, and killed them 
all without mercy. The whole settlement was 
destroyed, and few of the inhabitants escaped the 
cruel tomahawk. 

Captain Paul Jones. — One great battle took place on 
the sea. Paul Jones, a brave American captain, sailed 
with a few ships all round the coast of England, and 
kept the whole island in alarm. At length he met a 
British war vessel, the Serapis. His ship was called 
the Bonhomme Richard. The fight that followed 
was one of the most desperate that ever took place 
on the sea. The Bonhomme Richard was set on fire, 
and was so full of cannon-ball holes that it began to 




144 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 




The Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis. 



sink, but Paul Jones fought on. In the end the 
British surrendered. Captain Jones placed his men 
on board the Serapis and sailed away in triumph, 
leaving his own vessel to sink. There was no sur- 
render in Captain Paul 



Jones, and he is looked 
upon as one of the 
bravest men that ever 
sailed the seas. 

The Treason of 
Arnold.— In 1780 the 
war was nearly all in 
the south. Only one 
important event took 
place in the north. Benedict Arnold, an American 
general of great skill and courage, but of a sullen tem- 
per, became angry because he thought that he had not 
been fairly treated, and that other men had received 
the honor which he believed to be due to him. His 
discontent became so great in the end that he 
determined to turn traitor to his country. So he 
asked Washington to give him command of West 
Point, a strong fort on the Hudson River. As soon 
as he got hold of it he laid plans to surrender it to 
the British. 

The Capture of Andre. — Major Andre, a young 
British officer, was sent to consult with him. On his 
way back to New York, in disguise, Andre was taken 
prisoner by some Americans. They searched him, 
and in his stocking they found papers which told 
what his business had been. Arnold escaped in a 
boat to a British war vessel in the river, but he did 



THE WAR FOR Ii\ DEPENDENCE 



145 




The Arr'Sst of Andre. 



not succeed in giving the fort to the British. Every 
one felt pity for Major Andre, who was a fine young 
man; but he had been 
taken as a spy, and he 
was hanged as a spy. 

The South Carolina 
Partisans. — During 
1780 and 1781 the war 
was mostly in the 
south. The British 
captured Charleston, 
and soon had all South 
Carolina and Georgia 
in their hands. For a while there was no army 
to fight them; but some brave and bold men — 
Marion, Sumter, and others — got small bodies of 
soldiers together, and gave the British no end of 
trouble. They hid in the swamps, and attacked every 
small body of British soldiers they met. Marion was 
called the ''Swamp Fox." The British thought it was 
very cowardly in him that he would not come out 
into the open field 'Ho fight like an officer and a gentle- 
man." But he fought bravely enough in his own way. 

Generals Greene and Cornwallis. — In 1781, General 
Greene took command of the army in the south. He 
was a very skilful officer, fought the British at every 
opportunity, and even w^hen he was beaten he managed 
so that they got no good from their victory. At last 
General Cornwallis, who commanded the British army 
in the south, marched north to Virginia. Benedict 
Arnold, the traitor, was there with a British force, 
doing all the damage he could. 

10 



146 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

The Surrender of Cornwallis. — Cornwallis made 
Yorktown his head-quarters. Here he threw up earth- 
works, and waited for help from New York. But a 
French fleet sailed into York River and closed it against 
any British ships that might come from New York. 
Washington, who since 1778 had been watching the 
British in New York, now saw his opportunity, and 
marched south to Yorktown with the greatest speed. 
Very soon Cornwallis found that his army was sur- 
rounded, while cannon-balls were battering his works 
to pieces. He made an attempt to escape, but did not 
succeed, and was forced to surrender. This event 
took place on the 19th of October, 1781. 

The Treaty of Peace. — It was the last event of the 
war. There was no more fighting, and America was 
free. Two years afterwards a treaty of peace was 
signed, in which England acknowledged the freedom 
of America. From that time forward the American 
people took their place among the nations, under the 
title of ^'The United States of America,"— a title 
which now belongs to one of the greatest nations 
upon the earth. 

4. THE PEOPLE AND THE COUNTRY. 

The People and Their Ways. — What kind of nation 
was it that was made by the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence? How many people were there, and what were 
their modes of life? That is what we have next to 
consider. At the time of the Revolution, America was 
very different from what it had been a hundred years 
before, and very different from what it became a 
hundred years after. So this is a good resting-point, 



THE PEOPLE AND THE COUNTRY 147 

where we can stop and take a look at the people, 
and see how they lived and what they were doing. 

The Population of America. — We cannot state just 
how many people there were in America at that time, 
but there were more than two millions, possibly two 
and a half millions. This was a small population for 
a country of such size, extending fifteen hundred miles 
along the sea-coast and a considerable distance back 
into the interior. But this territory was very thinly 
settled. Even near the sea-coast the greater part of 
it was a wilderness, mostly covered with forest trees. 
The tow^ns were small and far apart, and the largest 
cities had not more than twentv thousand inhabitants. 
The people in those days thought New York and 
Philadelphia were important cities, but now we would 
look on them as only good-sized country towns. 

The State of the Interior. — Few of the settlements 
extended far back from the sea-coast, or from the 
great rivers. In New York most of the settlers kept 
near to the Hudson; in Pennsylvania they did not 
go far from the Delaware. The back country was yet 
in great part covered by forests, and was the home of 
the Indians and of white hunters, though in places 
there were a good many pioneer settlers. In Virginia 
and the Carolinas the people had gone much farther 
back from the coast. Daniel Boone, a bold and daring 
hunter, had led a party over the mountains into Ken- 
tucky. Some others had gone to Tennessee. But these 
men had to live with rifle in hand, for their lives were 
every minute in danger. Daniel Boone had many 
adventures with the Indians, but he escaped all peril 
and lived to be an old man. 



148 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Whence the People Came. — The people of America 
had come from many countries of Europe. There were 
Germans in Pennsylvania and Dutch in New York. 
Along the Delaware there were Swedes, and in parts 
of the south there were settlements of French and of 
Highlanders from Scotland. There were also many 
from the north of Ireland, known as Scotch-Irish. 
But most of the people were of English descent, and 
the others by degrees took up the language and the 
ways of the English, so that in time all these unlike 
people grew together into one nation. 

The Farming Population. — Most of the people of 
America were farmers. In those days there were none 
of the great factories and workshops which we now 
see almost everywhere. The soil was rich and gave 
plentiful crops, and there might be seen fine farm- 
houses, large barns full of corn, wheat, and hay, and 
great flocks of sheep and cattle in the fields. New 
England and the Middle Colonies were famous for 
sheep and corn. 

Home Work. — Nearly everything was done at home. 
While the men worked in the fields, the women spun 
wool and flax and made most of the clothing for the 
family. This was known as homespun cloth. The 
farmer had to be a mechanic also. He made most of 
the things he used. Even the nails he needed were 
hammered out by him during the winter. The children 
were kept busy, too, though there were schools where 
they could get some little education. 

Agriculture of the South. — In the south agriculture 
was the principal business of the people. Here the 
land was divided into great plantations, and large 



THE PEOPLE AND THE COUNTRY 



149 



crops of tobacco, rice, sugar, etc., were raised. Much 
tar and pitch were made in North Carolina. These 
were sent to Europe and sold or exchanged for other 
goods, and the people of that section grew rich. We 
have already told how the planters and their slaves 
lived on these great plantations. 




Spinning-Wheel, Reel, and Bed-Warmer. 

New England Commerce. — But the people of America 
were not all farmers. Many of them built ships and 
engaged in commerce. Long before the war the cities 
of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia had a large 
trade. Many ships came and went between these 
cities and England, and some went to France and 
Spain to bring back cargoes of wine and silks. This 
was against the English law, but the people thought 
this law unjust and did not hesitate to break it. Ves- 



150 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



sels were built in Boston and sent to the West Indies, 
where they were traded off for rum and sugar, for which 
articles there was much demand in those days. Many 
more were sent to England and sold there. As early 
as 1763, New England owned a thousand trading ships, 
besides the vessels of the hardy fishermen of the coast. 
Many of these ships were sent in search of whales, 
which were then far more plentiful than now. 




Flax-Brake. 



Manufacturing Industry. — There was not much 
manufacturing done in America. The laws of Eng- 
land had forbidden the people to make goods for 
themselves. They were watched closely, yet they 
managed to make some things. In New England there 
were a few mills for working iron. Hats were made 
of furs. In Pennsylvania very good leather was made. 
But the merchants of England did all they could 



THE PEOPLE AND THE COUNTRY 



151 



to put a stop to this, and to make the Americans 
buy everything from them. 

Of course they had to build their own houses, and 
to do many things which could not be done for them 
across the ocean. And after the Revolution they 
quickly began to do many other things for themselves, 
so that the commerce and manufactures of America 
increased very rapidly. There were several newspapers 
printed, but they were very small compared with those 




Stage-Coach from Baltimore to Washington. 

we see to-day. The first newspaper in America was 
The News Letter, which was started in Boston in 1704. 
In 1775 each of the cities of Boston, New York, and 
Philadelphia had four new^spapers. 

Cities and Travel. — Not much can be said for the 
cities of that period. Many of the great cities of to-day 
were then villages, or their sites were forest land. 
Boston had less than eighteen thousand people. New 



152 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

York over twenty thousand, and Philadelphia over 
thirty thousand. Baltimore and Charleston were 
much the largest cities in the south, their popula- 
tions being from twelve to fifteen thousand each. 

To travel from city to city was no easy task. There 
were some good roads in the north, but in the south 
the roads were very poor. In winter and spring most 
of the roads were little more than a series of mud-holes. 
The fastest stage-coach between New York and 
Philadelphia took two day-s for the trip, and it was a 
long and tiresome journey from Boston to New York. 
Therefore the people of the different colonies had very 
little to do with one another. There is more travel in 
a day now than there was in a year then. 

The Condition of the Cities. — There were some hand- 
some houses in the cities, but not many. In New York 
trees were planted before the houses, and there were 
railings on the roofs, so that people could sit there on 
summer evenings to enjoy the cool air. There were 
lamps in the streets. Broadway was thought a splen- 
did avenue, though it was not very long and soon 
ended in the open country. 

Philadelphia was then the most important city in the 
country. It had been laid out by William Penn with 
broad and regular streets, while those of New York 
and Boston w^ere crooked and narrow. Yet, much as 
it was spoken of in that day, it was a mere dwarf of 
a city compared with the present Philadelphia, and 
extended but a short distance back from the banks of 
the Delaware. 

Equality and Habits of the People. — There were no 
men of great riches in those days. Very few men in 



THE PEOPLE AND THE COUNTRY 153 

the country had ten thousand dollars a year to spend. 
Most of the people were nearly equal in wealth. There 
was little poverty and little riches. The people were 
simple in their manners, and did not live expensively. 
One of their worst faults was their fondness for liquor. 
They drank much more than people do now, and 
drunkenness was very common. 

Extent of the United States. — The country which the 
people had won for themselves by their hard fight with 
England was much smaller than the United States 
of our present maps. Canada was held by England. 
Its people had shown no wish to be free. In the south, 
Florida belonged to Spain; but Florida then reached 
farther north than it does now, and had a strip of 
land fifty miles wide extending along the Gulf of 
Mexico to the Mississippi River, so that it cut off the 
United States from the Gulf. And all the vast country 
that lay west of this river belonged to Spain. The 
United States of that day lay between the Mississippi 
River on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east, 
and between Canada on the north and Florida on the 
south. It was a great country then. It has grown to 
be a much greater country since. 

The States of the Union. — This country was divided 
into thirteen States. These were the same as the 
States which now lie along or near the Atlantic, except 
Maine and Vermont, which did not become States 
till afterwards, and Florida, which was added much 
later. They were called the United States of America, 
but they were not very closely united. Each of them 
was almost like a separate nation, for Congress had 
very little power over them. They sent some of their 



154 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

wisest men to Philadelphia to form part of the Congress 
which met there, but they did not give them much 
power or authority. They had to gain their freedom 
first. There would be time enough afterwards to form 
a strong nation out of the several colonies. 



PART IV.— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

1. In what ways were the Americans ill used by the English? 
What laws were passed about their trade? What was done about 
American ships? Were Americans allowed to make goods for them- 
selves? What did the English want them to do? Did the Americans 
obey the new laws? What law was passed to stop smuggling? Why 
did the English government wish to tax the Americans? What reply 
did the Americans make? What was the character of the Stamp 
Act? What did Patrick Henry declare? How did the people 
receive the Stamp Act? Who was sent to London to get the Stamp 
Act repealed? What was done to make the people pay the taxes? 
Why were soldiers sent to Boston? What is meant by the "Boston 
Massacre''? Why were the Americans not willing to pay the tax 
on tea? What was done at Boston? What was the Boston Port 
Bill? When and where did the " First Continental Congress " meet? 
What action did it take? 

2. What was the population of the colonies at the time of the 
disputes with England? What had England done in ten years? 
What city was the centre of the rebellious feeling? Where had the 
people collected stores? Describe Paul Revere's ride. What did 
the soldiers do at Lexington? What was done at Concord? De- 
scribe the retreat from Concord. How did the people of New England 
receive the news of this fight? What did Ethan Allen and the 
Green Mountain Boys do? Where did the Americans seek to build 
a fort? Describe the Bunker Hill battle. When did the Second 
Continental Congress meet? Who was made commander-in-chief 
of the army? How were the British forced to leave Boston? What 
did the Americans attempt in Canada, and with what result? What 
city was attacked by the British fleet? Describe Sergeant Jasper's 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 155 

brave action. What was the purpose of the colonists in the war? 
What member of Congress first declared that the colonies ought 
to be free? Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? When 
was it adopted? What effect did it have on the people? 

3. What did the Declaration of Independence signify to the 
people? Why is the 4th of July kept as a national holiday? What 
happened at New York? Describe Washington's retreat. How 
did the people feel? What did Washington do on Christmas Eve, 
1776? What took place at Trenton? At Princeton? What was 
the effect of these victories in America and Europe? Where did 
the British sail to in 1777? What was the effect of the battle of 
the Brandywine? WTiere did Washington's army pass the winter? 
What condition were the men in? What other expedition did the 
British attempt? Describe the battle of Bennington. What sort 
of a trap did Burgoyne fall into? Where and when did he surrender 
his army? What country made a treaty with America in 1778? 
What did the English now offer to do? How did the Americans 
receive their offer? What did the British army in Philadelphia do 
in 1778 and with what result? What fort did Anthony Wayne 
attack? What happened in the valley of Wyoming? Describe 
the great exploit of Captain Paul Jones. Where did the fighting 
take place in 1780? What did General Arnold seek to do? What 
happened to Major Andre? What southern city did the British 
capture? What leaders fought them in South Carolina? Who 
took command of the southern army in 1781? Who commanded 
the British army? What success did General Greene have? Where 
did Cornwallis go? What happened to the army of Cornwallis? 
Was there any more fighting? When was the treaty of peace 
signed? What was the new nation named? 

4. What was the population of America after the Revolution? 
How large was the country? How thickly was it settled? What 
was the size of the largest cities? Where did the settlers mostly 
live? What was the condition of the interior? What was the state 
of the southern population? What great hunter had gone to Ken- 
tucky? What was the character of his life there? From what 
countries had the people of America come? In what business were 
most of them engaged? What crops were raised? What did the 
women do? AVhat was raised in the south? Describe the shipping 



156 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

trade of the colonies. How many ships had New England in 1763? 
What were these used for? Was there much manufactui'ing? What 
things were made? What was the name of the first newspaper? 
How many newspapers were there in the principal cities in 1775? 
Tell the sizes of the different cities. What is said about travelling? 
What kind of a city was New York? What was Philadelphia like? 
What was the condition of the people? What bad habit had they? 
What was the extent of the United States? What were its boun- 
daries? How many States were there? Were they closely united? 
Did Congress then have much power? 



PART Y. 

THE FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC. 



1. THE MAKING OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

A Time of Distress. — At the end of the Revolution 
the people of America were in a condition of poverty 
and misery. Business was at a stand-still, there was 
very little money, and not much of anything else useful. 
The country owed a great debt and had little to pay 
it with. The paper money with which the soldiers 
had been paid had lost its value, and nobody would 
take it for goods. The people were very poor, with 
their farms ruined and many of their towns destroyed. 
Some of them were so desperate that they declared 
they would pay no debts or taxes. Two thousand 
such men in Massachusetts, led by a man named 
Daniel Shays, marched out with their arms and defied 
the government. The State had some trouble to make 
them submit. 

Yet this distress could not long continue. The 
country needed only a little time to be all right again. 
It still had its soil, its mines, its ships, and its indus- 
trious inhabitants, and these were enough to make 
any country rich. England could no longer tell the 
people where they should trade or what they should 
make, or order them to pay taxes to support her 
government. They were free now to work for and 
to govern themselves, and this was worth all it 
had cost. 

157 



158 



FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 



The Patriotism of Washington. — Washington was 
looked upon by every one as the great man of the 
country. The soldiers almost worshipped him. He 
could not go anywhere without crowds gathering to 
see him. He might have made himself a king if he 
had done what some of his friends wished. But he was 
too great a lover of his country for that, and would 
not take from America the liberty which he had done 
so much to gain for it. He went back to his home at 
Mount Vernon, in Virginia and became a simple 

farmer again. This was a noble act. 
Few men in Washington's position 
would have given up the power 
which was in his hands. All the 
world has praised him since as one 
of the greatest of patriots. 

The Condition of the Country. — 
There was one work of great im- 
portance to be done before the 
country could prosper. Congress 
had scarcely any power. It was 
made up of delegates from the States, but these 
States kept most of the power in their own hands. 
Congress could pass laws, but the States need not 
obey them unless they chose. Each State soon began 
to act as if it was an independent nation. Money was 
asked for by Congress to pay the interest on the debt, 
but very little of it was given, and hardly anything 
was done for the support of the government. A change 
of some kind had to be made, or the Union of the 
States would be broken, and there would be thirteen 
nations instead of one. 




Washinqton. 



THE MAKING OF THE GOVERNMENT 



159 



The Constitutional Convention. — This was seen by all 
the wise men of the country, — by Washington, Hamil- 
ton, Franklin, and others, — and steps were taken for a 
convention of delegates, which met at Philadelphia, in 
May, 1787, to try and form a stronger government. 
Among these delegates w^ere many learned and able 
men. For four months they talked over the condition of 
the country, and con- 
sidered what had best 
be done, and at the end 
of that time they had 
formed a plan of govern- 
ment very well suited to 
the needs of the country. 
This plan is what we 
have in the Constitution 
of the United States, 
that great document 
which forms the foun- 
dation of our govern- 
ment, and which has 
done so much to make 
the United States a great and powerful nation. 

The New Government. — When the Convention had 
finished its work, what had it done? Let us see. 
There were still thirteen States, each of which had the 
right to take care of its own affairs; but they were now 
combined under one general government, which had 
much power given to it. This government had the 
right to form an army and navy for its defence, to 
make treaties with other nations, and to declare war 
if necessary. 




Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Wherk 
THE First Continental Congress Met. 



160 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

It could coin the money of the country, manage the 
post-offices, lay taxes on the people, regulate com- 
merce with foreign countries, and make laws for the 
good of the whole nation. No State had any longer 
the power to do these things for itself, though each 
could make laws for its own people if they did not 
interfere with the rights of the people of any other 
State or of the government of the United States. 

The Legislative Body. — The new government was to 
consist of three bodies; one to make the laws, one to de- 
cide if they agreed with the Constitution, and one to 
see that they were put into effect. The first of these — 
the law-making body — is called the Congress of the 
United States. It is divided into two parts, — the 
House of Representatives, whose members are elected 
by the people, and the Senate whose members are 
elected by the State governments. The first of these 
is expected to look after the good of the whole people; 
the second, to attend to the interests of the States. But 
the interests of the people and of the States are very 
much the same, and there is little difference between the 
duties of the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

The Supreme Court. — The second body of the gov- 
ernment is called the Supreme Court. It is made up 
of a number of learned judges, whose duty it is to 
examine, if necessary, all the laws passed in the 
country, and decide if they agree with the Constitu- 
tion. If they do not agree they cease to be laws. 
Every law, either of Congress or of the States, must 
agree with the Constitution of the United States. 

The Powers of the President. — The third body of the 
government consists of a President, with a Vice- 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION 161 

President to take his place if he should die, and cer- 
tain officers known as cabinet officers, with whom he 
can consult. It is the duty of the President to execute, 
or put into force, the laws passed by Congress. If he 
does not approve of these acts of Congress he can veto 
them, or refuse to sign them. They cannot become 
laws if he does not sign them, unless two-thirds of the 
members of Congress vote for them again. The Presi- 
dent takes the place of the kings and emperors of 
foreign countries, but he has less power than some of 
them. He can only carry out the laws. He has nothing 
to do with making them, except that he need not 
approve any law which he does not think a good one. 

2. WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1789 to 1797. 

Washington as President. — As soon as the Constitu- 
tion was formed and adopted by the States a Presi- 
dent had to be chosen. Washington was the only 
man thought of for this high office. He became Presi- 
dent in 1789. It was decided that New York should 
be the seat of government, and Congress was asked to 
meet there on the 4th of March of that year. But 
travel was so difficult that the members did not all 
get there until April 30, on which date Washington 
was inaugurated as President. The next year the seat 
of government was removed to Philadelphia. 

The Work of the Government. — There was much to 

be done. There was a heavy debt to be paid, many 

laws to be passed, courts to be set up, taxes to be 

assessed, and the people had to gain confidence in the 

government before business could go on properly. 
11 



162 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

All this was done, everybody went to work, and it was 
not long before America was richer and happier than 
it had ever been before. 

There were troubles, it is true. A tax had been 
laid on whiskey, and a mob in western Pennsylvania 
refused to pay it. But Washington called out an 
army, and taught these people that the government 
intended to carry out its laws. There were difficulties 
also with England, Spain, and France, but they were 
all settled without going to war. 

The Seat of Government. — Washington was President 
for eight years. The seat of government was removed 
from New York to Philadelphia in 1790, and in 1800 
to the new city of Washington, which has since then 
grown to be one of the most beautiful of cities. 

Affairs in the West. — The people of the old States 
were now moving rapidly to the west. They no longer 
felt it necessary to keep near to the sea-coast, and they 
drove back the Indians as they went, and settled in 
the country west of the mountains. Vermont, Ken- 
tucky, and Tennessee soon became States. The set- 
tlers in Ohio had great trouble with the Indians, and 
much fighting took place; but the hostile tribes were 
at last defeated by General Wayne, and after that they 
continued peaceful for many years. 

3. JOHN ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 
From 1797 to 1801. 

Adams Elected President. — In 1796 Washington, who 
had been President for eight years, declined to be a 
candidate for a third term, and John Adams, who had 
been Vice-President under him, was elected President. 



JOHN ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION 163 

Thomas Jefferson was elected Vice-President, and they 
were inaugurated into their high offices on March 4, 1797. 

A Period of Prosperity. — It was a time of prosperity. 
The state of the country was very different from 
what it had been ten years before. Much of the debt 
of that time had been paid off and the people were 
quite willing to let the rest stand and accept interest 
for it. Duties had been laid on goods imported into 
the country and these supplied money enough for all 
the needs of the government and some over towards 
paying the debt. 

Business also was growing better, and workshops 
were being started in which goods could be made at 
home, instead of having to be bought abroad. The 
Indians were quiet and the people had become con- 
tented. In the south a great business in cotton rais- 
ing had begun, for the cotton gin, by the use of which 
cotton could be produced very cheaply, had been 
invented a few years before. 

Political Parties. — The people had now become 
divided into two political parties, the Republican and 
the Federalist, the former in favor of greater rights to 
the States, the latter in favor of a strong central 
government. Thomas Jefferson was the leader of the 
Republicans, or the Democrats as they were called 
in later years. 

Hostile Relations with France. — At that time a great 
revolution was going on in France. The people had 
risen against the king and his nobles and had cut off 
the head of their king. The new French government was 
very angry with the Americans for electing Adams Presi- 
dent, instead of Jefferson, who was friendly towards 



164 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

them. They therefore ordered the American minister 
to leave the country and began a kind of war by send- 
ing out cruisers to capture American vessels, of which 
hundreds were taken. 

A Naval Warfare. — This was more than the Ameri- 
can government was ready to bear, and its naval 
vessels were ordered to attack the French war-ships. 
After two of these had been captured, the French 
found that others could fight besides themselves, and 
asked for peace. As America did not want war, but 
only wished to protect its merchant ships, a treaty 
was made and the naval war came to an end. 

The Death of Washington. — In December, 1799, 
died George Washington, the great American hero. 
He had got wet in a storm and a severe cold came on. 
From this a fever came and on the night of December 
14 the noble patriot passed away. He was justly 
entitled: ''First in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen," and the whole country 
joined in paying honor to his memory. His home 
and tomb at Mount Vernon, near the city of Wash- 
ington, are places which Americans are glad to visit, 
for he is looked upon as our greatest man. 

4. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1801 to 1809. 

The Election of Jefferson. — In 1800 Thomas Jeffer- 
son, the writer of the Declaration of Independence 
and the leader of the Republican party, was elected 
President, and took his seat on March 4, 1801. During 
the preceding ten years Philadelphia had been the 
capital of the United States, but now a new city on 



JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION 165 

the Potomac River, named AVashington, was made 
the capital. It has been the capital ever since and has 
now grown into a large and very handsome city. 

Louisiana Purchased.— At this time the United 
States was bounded on the west by the Mississippi 
River. On the other side of that river was a great 
region reaching to the Rocky Mountains and inhabited 




The Capitol at Washington. 



only by Indians. It had been claimed by France up to 
1763, when it was given over to Spain. In 1800 France 
got possession of it again. But Napoleon, the great 
French conqueror, was then at war with England, 
and was afraid that Louisiana, as this country was 
called, would be taken from him, so in 1803 he sold it 
to the United States for fifteen million dollars. After 
that time the United States extended from the Atlantic 
Ocean to the Rocky Mountains, and the land thus 



166 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

bought by Jefferson has since then increased wonder- 
fully in value. 

War with Tripoli. — About this time war broke out 
with Tripoli, a country in the north of Africa. The 
people of that country were not civilized, and many of 
them were pirates, who spent their time in capturing 
the vessels of other nations. Merchant ships and their 
cargoes were taken by the pirates and all on board 
were sold as slaves. Some of the nations of Europe 
paid the Tripolitans to let their ships alone. The United 
States did this too for a wdiile, but when Jefferson 
became President he decided that this payment must 
stop. So a fleet of war vessels was sent out to punish 
the pirates of the Mediterranean. 

The Loss of the Philadelphia. — One of these war- 
ships, the Philadelphia, ran aground and w^as seized 
by the Tripolitans. A brave young officer, Lieutenant 
Decatur, determined that they should not keep her; 
so he sailed into the harbor in a little vessel with some 
American sailors, most of whom w^ere hidden from 
sight. The people on the frigate thought it w^as one 
of their own vessels, till it ran against the Philadel- 
phia, when the sailors sprang on board, attacked the 
pirates, drove them into the sea, and set the frigate on 
fire, as there was no time to get her under sail. Then 
the gallant Decatur sailed away w^ithout heed to the 
cannon-balls which the forts were firing at him. After 
four years of war the ruler of Tripoli was glad to agree 
to let the merchant vessels of the United States alone. 

Interference with American Commerce. — The people 
of Tripoli were not the only ones that interfered with 
American commerce. England and France w^ere then 



MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION 167 

at war and England wanted all the sailors she could 
get for her war-ships. So she claimed the right to stop 
any vessel at sea and take from it any man who had 
been born in England. A good many were thus taken 
w^ho had never seen England, but were born in Amer- 
ica. And each of these countries also said that no 
foreign ships should carry goods to the other, and they 
seized every merchant ship they found engaged in this 
trade. In this way many American ships were taken 
and our merchants were robbed of millions of dollars. 
The Embargo Act. — To put a stop to this state of 
affairs Congress passed what was called the Embargo 
Act, which forbade any American ship to leave port 
with goods for foreign countries. It was thought that 
this would so injure France and England, who needed 
American goods, that they would consent to let our 
vessels alone. It did injure them, but it injured the 
United States still more. No ocean business at all was 
done and there was so much distress in consequence 
that the law had to be repealed. A Non-Intercourse 
Act was then passed which gave our merchants rights 
to trade with all countries but England and France. 

5. MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1809 to 1817. 

James Madison made President. — Jefferson was Pres- 
ident for eight years, then James Madison, an able and 
active statesman, was elected to take his place. But 
he was a man who was not fond of war, and it looked as 
if war would soon come. British and French war- 
vessels were everywhere on the ocean and no American 
merchant ship was safe. And the British war-vessels 



168 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

kept on taking sailors from American ships. It is said 
that in all more than six thousand men were thus 
taken, and that between 1803 and 1812 more than nine 
hundred American vessels were seized bv British 
cruisers. All over the country went up the war-cry of 
"Free trade and sailor's rights." No country could 
bear being treated in this way, and w^ar could not long 
be avoided, though President Madison wished to pre- 
vent it. 

Indian Hostilities. — In 1811 an Indian war broke 
out. A famous chief named Tecumseh tried to com- 
bine all the tribes against the whites. General Harri- 
son was sent against them, and when his camp near 
the Tippecanoe River was attacked at night he de- 
feated and killed many of the savage warriors. This 
made the people more angry still against England, 
for they believed that British agents from Canada had 
stirred up the Indians to this war. 

The Country Unprepared. — The United States was 
not at all prepared to go to war. Its army was small, 
its soldiers were not trained, it had no generals who 
had ever been on a battle field, except against the 
Indians. And its navy was very poor, there being 
only twelve vessels against a thousand in the British 
navy, more than a hundred of them being large and 
powerful ships. But when people feel that they have 
been wronged and insulted they do not stop to think 
of all these things, and on June 18, 1812, Congress 
declared war against Great Britain. 



THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 



169 



6. THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 

The Seat of War. — The war continued for nearly 
three years. It was fought in America and on the 
ocean. The United States could not send soldiers to 
England, but north of this country lay Canada, which 
belonged to England, and an effort was made to take 
possession of this country, which would have been a 
great loss to the enemy. Thus the greater part of the 
land war took place along the border line between the 
United States and Canada. 

On Lake Erie. — For over a year armies were sent 
into Canada, but nothing was gained, while the British 




Perry's Fleet on Lake Erie. 



got possession of Michigan, and Ohio was in danger. 
There was a British fleet on Lake Erie, and it was 
feared that it would be used to land soldiers on the 
American shores of that lake. An active young officer, 
Captain Oliver Perry, was sent to Lake Erie to see 
what could be done to prevent this. He at once went 



170 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

to work to cut clown trees, hew them into shape and 
build ships. In a short time he had a fleet of small 
Vessels, and sailed out to meet the British ships. 

Perry's Victory. — The two fleets met on the 10th of 
September, 1813. A fierce battle followed, in which 
both sides fought with great courage, but the British 
were beaten and forced to surrender. During the 
fight the ship which Captain Perry commanded was 
shot so full of holes that it was ready to sink. So the 
gallant young officer took his flag and rowed in an 
open boat to another ship. The British vessels fired at 
him as he went, but he escaped unharmed. After the 
victory he sent to General Harrison this brief dis- 
patch: ''We have met the enemy, and they are ours.'' 

American Victories. — As soon as General Harrison 
received this dispatch he marched towards the enemy, 
and came up with them on the River Thames, in 
Canada. Here the British were defeated and most of 
them taken prisoners, while Tecumseh, the celebrated 
Indian chief, was killed. This victory drove the 
British out of Michigan. The next year General Win- 
field Scott won two victories in Canada, and in the 
same year there was a naval battle on Lake Cham- 
plain, where the English had a strong fleet. Com- 
modore McDonough commanded the American fleet 
and gained a complete victory. After that the British 
made no effort to invade the United States from 
Canada, while the Americans did not again invade 
Canada. 

The Work of the Navy. — It w^as on the ocean that 
the Americans showed their best fighting powers. They 
were victorious in nearl}^ every engagement. The first 



THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 171 

battle was between the American ship Constitution 
and the British ship Guerriere. They fought for two 
hours, at the end of which time the Guerriere w^as so 
full of cannon-ball holes that she was sinking and had 
to surrender. 

This victory made a great sensation in Europe and 
America. The British had long been masters of the 
ocean, and it was thought their ships could not be 
beaten. Before the end of the war American ships 
had gained many other brilliant victories over the war 
vessels of Great Britain. They had shown to the world 
that England was no longer '^ mistress of the seas." 
All Europe was surprised to see the little American 
fleet doing such wonderful work. 

The Burning of Washington. — In 1814 the British 
army did a disgraceful thing. There was a fleet which 
had done much damage along the coast, and this 
sailed up Chesapeake Bay and landed an army which 
marched on Washington. The city was very poorly 
defended, and the British took possession of it. They 
burned the Capitol and other public buildings, and 
many private houses, and then marched out again. 
This has always been looked on as a shameful act. 
The same fleet made an attack on Baltimore, but was 
driven off. 

Jackson at New Orleans. — The next effort of the 
British was made against the city of New Orleans. A 
strong army was landed and marched to attack that 
city, which was defended by a few Americans. But 
there was a brave and skilful officer, General Andrew 
Jackson, and he soon raised himself an army. He had 
been fighting with the Creek Indians in Alabama, who 



172 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 



had made war on the whites. These savages he com- 
pletely defeated. When he saw what the British 
intended he collected all the men he could. Most of 
them had never seen a battle, but they all knew how 
to use a rifle, and many of them were old hunters and 
skilful marksmen. 

A Hard=Fought Battle. — Both armies built breast- 
works. Those of the British were made of sugar hogs- 




Battle of New Orleans, 

heads, and those of the Americans of cotton bales. But 
these were soon battered down and set on fire by the 
cannon-shot, and then Jackson built earthworks out of 
the black mud of the river. For some time they fought 
at a distance with cannon, and then the British deter- 
mined to take the American works by storm. They had 
a large army of veteran soldiers, while the Americans 
were militia; but these backwoods riflemen wasted no 
bullets. Every time that a rifle was fired an enemy fell; 
and the men were well protected by their mud walls. 



THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 173 

The British Defeated. — On the 8th of January, 1815, 
the British advanced to the attack. They came on 
boldly, but could not stand the terrible fire of the 
American riflemen and soon were forced to retreat. 
Again they advanced, and once more they fell dead by 
hundreds. This was enough. The battle had lasted 
only half an hour when the British army was in full 
retreat, having lost its commander. General Paken- 
ham, and more than two thousand men, while only 
eight of the Americans were killed. 

The Treaty of Peace. — The war was at an end before 
this battle was fought, though the armies at New 
Orleans did not know^ it. A treaty of peace had been 
signed; but those were not the days of railroads and 
telegraphs, and it took as many weeks as it does sec- 
onds now to get news from New York to New Orleans. 
So those two thousand men lost their lives for nothing. 

The Necessity for Peace. — The war did not end any 
too soon. There was nothing to fight for any longer, 
and America was greatly suffering. England had 
ended the war which had been kept up for many years 
with France and wanted no more sailors or goods 
from American ships. There was an immense army, a 
great fleet and abundance of money to use against 
this country, which was poor, and in debt. Its trade 
w^as gone, and heavy taxes were laid on its people. 
Some of the States refused to supply any more men 
and money for a war which there was no longer any 
use for. So a treaty of peace was made with the 
English government. 

Industry Re=Established. — When the news of the 
treaty reached America the whole country was glad. 



174 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

*' Peace! peace!" was the shout in the streets. Some 
of the cities were illuminated. At once business started 
up. Before night of that day shipwrights were at 
work on the merchant ships, making them ready for 
sea. Sailors were engaged, cargoes loaded, and very 
soon American sails were spread again upon the seas, 
while at home the joyful soldiers dropped the sword 
and the musket and seized the plough-handle and the 
hammer, and the cheerful sounds of industry were 
heard once more throughout the land. 

The Barbary States. — After the war affairs in Amer- 
ica went on very quietly for many years. There was 
some more trouble with the pirates of Northern Africa, 
who again interfered with American commerce. But 
Commodore Decatur, the brave soldier who had burnt 
the Philadelphia, went out with a fleet and very soon 
frightened the piratical states. These were the coun- 
tries of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, known as the 
Barbary States. They have never interfered with 
American vessels since that time. 

Business Activity. — Business grew active again as 
soon as the war was at an end. The farmers sold their 
crops for good prices, the ships found plenty to do, 
and all the people were busy except the mechanics. 
During the war many factories had been built in 
America, but after the treaty of peace English goods 
were sent to this country in great quantities, and sold 
so low that the American factories had to sell at a 
loss or stop working. This set people to talking about 
a tariff, or a tax on foreign goods, so that they could 
not be sold lower than American goods. 



MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION 175 



7. MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1817 to 1825. 

The Era of Good Feeling. — In 1816 James Monroe, a 
statesman of Virginia, was elected President, and held 
the office for the eight years from 1817 to 1825, After 
the war the political feeling in America had died away, 
and soon there was but one political party. People 
ceased to vote for the old Federal party, and OAly the 
party which had been known as the Democratic- 
Republican was left. This party was afterwards gen-- 
erally called the Democratic. The period that followedt 
has been called "the era of good feel- 
ing," because the people all thought 
much the same way in politics, and 
there were no political disputes. 

Florida Invaded.— While Monroe was 
President there were some troubles 
with the Indians of Florida, and these 
led to important results. Florida still 
belonged to Spain, and the Spaniards 
stirred up the Seminole Indians to 
make attacks on the people of Georgia and Alabama.. 
General Jackson then commanded the army in the 
South. He was of a hasty temper, and he quickly 
marched his men into Florida and took possession of 
the Spanish town of Pensacola. He also hung two 
Englishmen who, he said, led the Indians. 

Jackson was blamed for this, but Spain saw that she 
could not keep Florida, so she asked the United States, 
to buy it. The price asked for it was five million 
dollars, which was much less than a. war would have 




176 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

cost. The United States was quite willing to pay this 
sum, and became owner of Florida in 1821. 

New States Admitted. — The country along the Missis- 
sippi was now filling up with people, and seven new 
States were formed between 1812 and 1821. These 
were Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, 
Maine, and Missouri. Ohio had become a State in 1802. 
These, with the thirteen original States, and Vermont, 
Tennessee, and Kentucky, which had been admitted 
before 1800, made the total number twenty-four. 

The Slavery Question. — There was a dispute in Con- 
gress when Missouri asked to be made a State. This 
dispute was on the question of slavery. As this was to 
become a very important question in later years we 
must say something about it here. In the early days 
of America there were slaves in all the colonies; but 
in 1820 very few slaves were left in the States north 
of Virginia. They were still kept in the south on 
account of their use in the cotton, rice, and tobacco 
plantations; but a law had been passed in 1787 pro- 
viding that there should be no slaves in the territory 
north of the Ohio River. 

The Missouri Compromise. — When Missouri asked to 
be made a State there were many slaves there already, 
and a debate arose whether it should be a slave or a 
free State. This was settled by what is called '^The 
Missouri Compromise." A law was passed which said 
that Missouri might come into the Union as a slave 
State, but that there should be no more slave States 
in the Western country north of the latitude of the 
southern boundary of Missouri. This settled ail 
trouble about slave States for twenty-five years. 



MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION 177 

The Monroe Doctrine. — At that time the Spanish 
colonies of America were fighting for freedom and 
most of them had won their liberty. Some of the 
nations of Europe now proposed to help Spain win 
them back; hoping to be able to get part of them for 
themselves. In 1823 President Monroe sent a message 
to Congress in which he said that the United States 
would not approve of any new colonies being formed in 
America, and would not consent to any foreign power 
taking possession of or invading those new nations. 
This is known as the '^ Monroe Doctrine." It is still 
an important part of the American policy and has 
gone far to keep America for the Americans. 

Internal Improvement. — As the country was filling 
up so fast with people, something had to be done to 
make it easier to travel and carry goods from one place 
to another. There were steamboats on the rivers, but 
there were no railroads, and the carriage roads were 
very bad. So Congress began to make good roads in 
different directions. Canals were also made to carry 
goods cheaply. The greatest of these was the Erie Canal 
of New York. This was begun in 1817 and finished in 
1825. It runs across the State from Albany to Buffalo, 
a distance of tiiree hundred and sixty-three miles, and 
is of great use in bringing goods and grain from the 
West to the Hudson River and New York City. 

The Tariff Question. — Another great question arose 
in Congress during this period. This was about a 
tariff on foreign goods. Americans were trying to 
start factories and workshops and to make articles 
for their own use; but they had to pay high wages to 
mechanics, and found that they could not sell as low 

12 



178 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

as the English. A law was passed in 1816 laying a tax 
or duty on manufactured foreign goods, to protect 
the American makers from foreign competition. It 
proved very useful, and the workshops of America 
quickly became busy, and have continued so from that 
time to the present. But the question of the tariff 
has never been settled to please all parties, and it is 
one of the great political questions of the present day. 

8. THE JOHN QUINCY ADAMS ADMINISTRATION 

From 1825 to 1829. 

Whigs and Democrats. — In 1-824 John Quincy 
Adams was elected President by the party w^hich had 
been' knowm by the two names of Republican and 
Democratic. There was no other party at that time, 
for the Republican party which we now have was not 
formed till long afterwards. But while Adams was 
President the one party became divided into two, 
■which were afterwards known as the Democratic and 
the Whig parties. It was the tariff and some other 
questions that divided the old party. The Whigs were 
in favor of high tariff and the Democrats of low tariff. 
The Whigs were strongest in the north, where there 
were the most factories, and the Democrats in the 
south, where low-priced goods were wanted. Thus the 
^^Era of Good Feeling" was brought to an end. 

A Higher Tariff. — One of the principal things done by 
Congress in the new administration was to pass a tariff 
which laid much higher duties on several kinds of goods. 
it was bitterly opposed in the South, where low duties 
were desired, and its enemies called it the 'Hariff of 
abominations.^' It led to much trouble a few years later. 



THE PiiOGRESS OF THE COUNTRY 179 

The Creek Indians Removed. — Another important 
event was the removal of the Creek Indians of Georgia 
from their old home to a tract of land west of the 
Mississippi River, known as the Indian Territory. 
They earnestly objected to this but they were forced 
to go, and at a later date the Cherokee Indians were 
also removed. This is one example of the injustice 
with which the native inhabitants of our country have 
been treated. 

The Cause of Temperance. — The drinking of intoxi- 
cating liquor had become so great an evil that a 
strong feeling w^as aroused against it at this time. 
Drunkenness had grown so common that it affected 
all classes of society, the rich and poor alike. The 
first successful temperance society was founded in 
1826, and in the years that followed thousands of 
people took the pledge not to drink liquors of any 
kind. Though this did not do aw^ay with drunken- 
ness in this country, it has never since been so bad and 
it is steadily becoming less of an evil. 

The Election of 1828.— In 1828 John Quincy Adams 
and Andrew Jackson were the candidates for the 
Presidency. Jackson was a popular military hero, 
while Adams was not very well liked, the result being 
that Jackson was elected by a large majority. John C 
Calhoun, of South Carolina, was elected Vice-President. 

9. THE PROGRESS OF THE COUNTRY. 

Changes in Life and Customs. — During the half cen- 
tury with which we have here dealt many changes of 
importance had occurred in the country. The people 
were gaining new ideas; new ways of doing things 



180 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

were coming into use, and much of importance aside 
from political events was taking place. These things 
do not belong to political history, but are of great 
importance in social history. 

Growth of Population. — In the first census of the 
United States, taken in 1790, there were found to be 
nearly four millions of people in the country. In the 
fourth census, that of 1830, there were nearly thirteen 
millions, more than three times as many. This great 
increase of people had done much to fill up the new 
States in the west. In 1780 the west was still a 
wilderness. Daniel Boone had led some settlers into 
Kentucky and others had gone to Tennessee, but else- 
where the people had not moved far back from the 
sea-coast. There were great hardships to be borne 
by those who went West, and much danger from the 
Indians, and those who loved comfort and safety kept 
in the old settlements along the coast. 

The Pioneers of the North. — But there were many 
who loved adventure more than they did peace and 
comfort, and hundreds of these went out as pioneers 
into the wilderness. In the region of New England 
and New York these travelled with emigrant wagons, 
making roads through the woods as they went. They 
would clear off the trees and cultivate a piece of land 
for a year or two, and then, as others settled near them, 
they would set out again for a new home in the wilder- 
ness. It was like a great army slowly marching for- 
ward and sending pioneers in advance, while the main 
body held on to every foot of land that was occupied. 
The Indians retreated step by step before them. 
They could not repel this army of emigrants. 



THE PROGRESS OF THE COUNTRY 



181 



Emigration along the Ohio. — Along the Ohio the 
emigrants went in a different way. They loaded their 
goods and families on boats and floated down the 
river till they found a good place tc settle. It was a 
dangerous journey. The Indians would fire on them 
from the woods on the river bank, and many were 
killed or captured. Afterwards the boats were made 
stronger so that bullets would not pass through 
them, and in some cases they carried small cannon 
to drive off the foe. But for many years the journey 
down the Ohio was a dangerous one. 




The Home of the Pioneer. 



Settlements in the West. — -No clangers could keep 
back the people, and they made many settlements 
along the Ohio River. Louisville was founded in 1778, 
and the first houses were built at Cincinnati in 1788. 
The Indians fought with the settlers, but they w^ere 
driven back, and soon there were great numbers of 
people along the Ohio and Mississippi, and States 
began to be formed where not many years before all 
had been a wilderness, the home of the red man and 
of wild beasts. 



182 



FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 



How People Lived. — In those days things were very 
different from what they are now, even in the largest 
cities. The streets were dirty and poorly paved, while 
at night they were lighted only by a few oil lamps. 
There w^ere no gas and no matches such as we have 




i^ Colonial Kitchen. 



now, but a piece of flint and steel and some tinder 
were used to make a light. Water had to be carried 
from the pump, and wood was used for fires, so that 
houses were not warmed all through as they now are, 
and most of the rooms had no fires to warm them. In 
winter people slept in freezing cold rooms. 



THE PROGRESS OF THE COUNTRY 183 

Most of the people lived on farms, for there were 
fewer workshops to bring them into the cities. Life 
on the farm was very hard. There were none of the 
excellent machines which farmers have now, and the 
work required great labor, while most of the things 
that were used had to be made at home. There were 
very few amusements in the country, and not many 
books and newspapers, while there was little time for 
anything except hard work. 

In the houses there were great open fireplaces, 
where logs of wood were burned. Tallow candles were 
used to light the rooms, while most of the people wore 
clothes of homespun, — that is, of cloth made at home 
from thread spun on the spinning-wheel and woven 
on the hand-loom. Hunting and fishing were the 
principal amusements of the men, and the gun and the 
fishing-rod could be seen in every house. 

Customs of the Rich. — But the rich people in the 
cities lived much better than the farmers and made a 
great deal more display. This class of people dressed 
more showily than they do now. The gentlemen wore 
white satin vests and white silk stockings, with velvet 
or broadcloth coats; while the ladies wore beautiful, 
silks and satins, and had their hair dressed with powder 
and pomatum and raised like a tower above the head. 
All gentlemen took snuff, and to offer the snuff-box 
was considered an act of politeness. 

Fine balls were given at w^hich there was much 
formality, and also musical concerts, but the theatre 
had made no great progress. There was much pomp 
and show at President Washington's receptions: the 
kings of Europe made little more display. But this 



184 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

came to an end after Jefferson was made President. 
He dressed plainly and did away with all ceremony. 

Cotton in the South. — There was one thing that hap- 
pened at this time of which we must speak. Among 
the plants which had been early planted in the Southern 
colonies was the cotton-plant. This plant has its 
seeds covered with a fine white down, or fibre, which 
can be spun into thread and made into cloth. Cotton 
grew in other parts of the world and was used for this 
purpose. The people of the south raised some of the 
plants, but it took so much time and trouble to get the 
seeds out of the cotton that they could not make it pay. 

The Cotton Gin. — In 1792 a young man from Massa- 
chusetts, named Eli Whitney, went to Georgia to teach 
while he studied law. One day he was asked if he 
could not make a machine that would separate the 
cotton seeds from the fibre faster than the old way of 
picking them out by hand. He began to experiment, 
and soon invented a machine which did this work very 
well. It was called the cotton-gin. It worked so well 
that it was soon in use wherever the plant was raised, 
and before many years the cultivation of cotton became 
a great industry. American cotton came into use in 
all parts of the civilized world, and the South grew very 
rich from the vast quantities of this useful product 
that were raised and sold. 

The Steamboat Invented. — Other inventions were 
made, one of the most important being the steamboat. 
Several persons tried this. There was one built by 
James Rumsey in 1784, and another afterwards by 
John Fitch, which ran for some time on the Delaware. 
But the first successful steamboat was built by Robert 



THE PROGRESS OF THE COUNTRY 



185 



Fulton in 1807. This was tried on the Hudson, and 
when people saw it moving at five miles an hour against 
wind and tide they knew that a great invention had 
been made. As it went up the river to Albany the 
sailors on other vessels were scared to see this monster 
sending clouds of smoke and showers of sparks into 
the air, and making a great noise with its paddles 
and machinery. Some of them hid below the deck, 
and other fell on their 
knees and prayed for 
safety. But before long 
steamboats were run- 
ning on all the rivers 
and proved of the 
greatest use. 

On the Western Riv- 
ers. — Before the time of 
steamboats it was not 
easy to travel on the 
w^estern rivers. Boats 
would float down the 
Ohio and Mississippi to 
New Orleans, but it was hard work to row them back 
against the strong current. So they were broken up 
and sold for lumber, and the sailors walked or rode 
back along the river banks. But after steamboats 
were put on the rivers there was no trouble in moving 
up as well as down. In 1819 the first steamship crossed 
the Atlantic. It was named the Savannah. 

The Railroad Introduced. — There was another great 
invention soon to come into use. This was the rail- 
road. The first railroad in America is said to have 




Fulton's Steamboat. (The Clermont.) 



186 



FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 



.been one built in 1827 at Quincy, Massachusetts. It 
■was only three miles long, and the cars were drawn 
l)y horses, and carried stone from the quarries to the 
wharves. But about this time the locomotive was 
invented in England by George Stephenson. 

In 1828 the locomotive was tried in America. Farm- 
•ers did not like it at first. They thought it would 
scare their animals, and that the wool of the sheep 
would be made black by the smoke, so that it could 
not be sold. But none of these things happened, and 




A Modern Steamship. 



;soon railroads were being built in various directions. 
Nothing else has done so much to make a great country 
■of America. 

A Period of Prosperity. — After the war with Great 
Britain the country found itself in a state of great 
poverty and with a heavy debt to pay. But business 
became so good that there was soon more riches in 
the country than there had been before. Tobacco and 
-cotton sold at high prices; the ships had plenty to do; 
soon gold watches began to take the place of silver, 
silk goods took the place of cotton, better furniture 
was seen in the houses, and people lived in more 
€omfort than of old. 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 187 

Coal and Gas. — Up to this time only wood, or soft 
coal, had been burned. The hard coal, or anthracite 
coal, of Pennsylvania was discovered in 1791, but it 
was long before people learned how to burn it, and it 
was not generally used before 1830. Since then it has 
made our houses much more comfortable. Gas was 
first used for lighting in 1822, and soon became com- 
mon. It proved a very useful invention. 



PART v.— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

1. What was the condition of the people after the Revolution? 
What was thought of Washington? Why did Congress have little 
power? When and where did the Constitutional Convention meet? 
What great document did it prepare? What were to be the powers 
of the new government? Of what three bodies was it composed? Of 
what two bodies is Congress made up? What are their duties? What 
is the duty of the Supreme Court? Wliat is the duty of the President? 

2. Who was the first President, and when elected? What city 
was made the seat of government? What troubles took place in 
Western Pennsylvania? To what place was the seat of government 
removed in 1790? To what place in 1800? What three States were 
formed about this time? What took place in Ohio? 

3. Who was the second President? Why had the country 
grown more prosperous? What two political parties arose? What 
led to a naval war with France? When did Washington die and 
how was he spoken of? 

4. Who was elected President in 1800? What great purchase 
was made in 1803? How far did the United States extend before 
that time? How far after? What was the character of the people 
of Tripoli? How did they act toward American commerce? What 
did President Jefferson do? Describe the fate of the frigate Phila- 
delphia. What claim was made by England? How did the French 
and English war affect American trade? What act was passed by 
Congi'ess? What was its purpose? What country did it hurt most? 

5. Who was the fourth President? How did England injure 
this country? What took place among the Western Indians? 
When was war declared? 



188 FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC 

6. Where was the chief seat of the war? What American officer 
was sent to Lake Erie? What was the result of the battle of Lake 
Erie? What other victories did the Americans win? Between what 
ships was the first naval battle? What success had the Americans on 
the ocean? What city did the British attack in 1814? What other city 
did they attack? Who commanded the Americans at New Orleans? 
What was the result of the British attack? Why was it important to 
end the war? What effect had the treaty of peace on the people and 
on business? 

7. Who was elected President in 1816? Why was this period 
called "the era of good feeling"? What was done in Florida and 
with what result? How many States were there in 1821? What 
dispute arose when Missouri asked to be made a State? Why were 
slaves kept in the south longer than in the north? What was the 
^' Missouri Compromise "? What is meant by the Monroe Doctrine? 
What did Congress do to make travelling easier? What great 
work of public improvement was done in New York? Why was a 
tariff wanted? What effect did it have? 

8. Who was elected President in 1824? What new parties 
arose during his term of office and what were their principles? How 
was the tariff of 1828 received? What was the effect of the temper- 
ance agitation? Who was elected President in 1828? 

9. When was the first census of the United States taken? 
What was the population? What increase had taken place by 1830? 
What was the condition of the Western country in 1780? How 
was emigration westward conducted in New York and New England? 
How along the Ohio? How did people live in those days? How 
were houses warmed? What was the character of farm-life? What 
kind of clothes were worn? What amusements did the people 
have? What were President Washington's receptions like? What 
President did away with ceremony? What was the most important 
Southern plant? Who invented the "cotton-gin"? What effect 
did it have on the South? Who invented the first useful steamboat? 
How did people travel on the western rivers before steamboats 
were used? When did the first steamship cross the Atlantic? 
When and where was the first railroad built in America? How 
were the cars drawn? Who invented the locomotive? When was 
it first tried in America? What was the condition of business after 
the war with Great Britain? When was anthracite coal first dis- 
covered in Pennsylvania? When was gas first used for lighting? 



PART VI. 

TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS. 



1. JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1829 to 1837. 

Andrew Jackson as President. — General Andrew 
Jackson was inaugurated as President, March 4, 1829. 
He was a very popular man, for the people did not forget 
how well he had fought at New Orleans ; so he was elected 
twice and was President for eight years, from 1829 to 
1837- Yet he was a man without education, and was 
rough in his manners and obstinate in his opinions. What 
he thought it right to do he did, without caring what 
any one else thought. But men who act in that way 
are apt to make mischief, for it takes more than one to 
tell what it is best to do when great questions arise. 

The South Carolina Trouble. — The first difficulty 
that arose was about the tariff. The people of South 
Carolina strongly opposed the tariff of 1828 and passed 
a law saying that foreign goods would be admitted 
into that State without paying duties. This was 
against the Constitution, which said that only Congress 
could pass laws of that kind. But the law-makers of 
South Carolina declared that if Congress interfered w^ith 
what they had done the State would secede or with- 
draw from the Union, and become a separate nation. 

What the President Did. — President Jackson was a 
Democrat, and therefore belonged to the party that 
was in favor of low tariff. But it was his duty to carry 

189 



190 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 

out the laws, and this he determined to do. He said 
that South CaroHna should pay the duties, and sent 
war-ships to Charleston to enforce the law. Every- 
body knew that Jackson meant what he said, and that 
he would force the State to remain in the Union and 
to obey the laws made by Congress, if he had to do it 
with an army. But about this time Congress passed a 
law to lower the tariff, a part of which was to be taken 
off every year for ten years. This settled the trouble. 
South Carolina withdrew her ''Ordinance of Secession," 
and there was no more talk of leaving the Union. 

The Bank Question. — The next question was about 
the United States Bank. This bank had been started 
in 1816, and was to continue for twenty years. Its 
charter would run out in 1836, and Congress was asked 
for a new one. A bill was passed to give it a charter, 
but the President was opposed to the bank and would 
not sign it, so it did not become a law. He also took 
the government money from the bank. 

This proved to be a serious matter, and helped to bring 
the country into great trouble. When it was found that 
the United States Bank must stop. State banks started 
up all over the country, and these lent money freely to 
speculators. But this was only paper money, and the 
banks had very little gold and silver to make it good. 

The Panic of 1837. — At that time there was much 
speculation in western lands, and much also in foreign 
goods. Business was brisk, and every one thought 
the country was prosperous. But nearly all this busi- 
ness was done on the paper money of the State banks 
and on credit. It ended in one of the greatest panics 
in business the country has ever known. The Presi- 



JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION 



1911 



dent said that gold and silver must be paid for gov- 
ernment lands, and this brought on the panic. All 
over the States the banks ceased the payment of coin,, 
merchants were ruined, factories closed, and businessr 
came nearly to an end. There were failures for millions 
of dollars, and many thousands of people could get 
no work to do and little food to eat. This began in 
1837 and continued for a year, but it was several years 
before the effects of it were over. 



•. '''. 



'k' 




I •.'* 



From Willoughby's "Across the Everglades.'' 

The Everglades of Florida. 

Indian Wars. — Several wars with the Indians took 
place during Jackson's term. As the w^hite people 
pushed farther into the country they met new tribes 
of Indians, who were often treated unjustly, many of 



192 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 

these pioneers being rough and brutal men. The 
Indians defended themselves and thus wars began. 
One broke out in 1832 with the Sac and Fox Indians, 
who were led by a chief named Black Hawk. They 
fought hard but were forced to submit. 

A more serious war began in 1835 with the Seminole 
Indians of Florida. These lived in the great swamp 
regions of that State and it took years and cost the 
government thirty millions of dollars to overcome 
them. They were sent to the Indian Territory, where 
the Creeks and Cherokees had been sent before, but 
some of the Seminoles remained in Florida in places 
where the soldiers could not find them, and their 
descendents still live there. 

2, VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1837 to 1841. 

Martin Van Buren. — In 183G Martin Van Buren, who 
had been Vice-President in Jackson's second term, was 
elected President and took his seat March 4, 1837. 
It was during his administration that the panic of 
which we have spoken took place, though President 
Jackson's policy in regard to the banks had much to do 
with its development. 

Wild Cat Banks. — Many of the State banks which 
succeeded the United States bank had little capital 
and did business in such a way that they were called 
''wild cat" banks. In some of these Jackson had 
deposited the government money taken from the Uni- 
ted States Bank. The ''pet banks," as these were 
named, loaned this public money freely to speculators 
and much of it was lost after the panic began. 



HARRISON AND TYLER ADMINISTRATION 193 

The paper money issued by the banks then came 
back in quantities, and as few of them had enough 
gold and silver in their vaults to redeem it, they 
failed on all sides.- Everywhere also the merchants 
and speculators were in trouble, the failures in New 
York City alone within two months reaching the great 
sum of one hundred million dollars. 

State Failures.— The finances of the country were in 
such a condition that some of the States, which had 
borrowed large sums of money from Europe for public 
improvements, were not able to pay interest on their 
debts and one State refused to pay either principal or 
interest. This was a serious blow to American credit. 

The Treasury and Sub-Treasury System. — As it was 
seen to be unsafe to deposit the public money in the 
banks, a law was passed establishing a government 
treasury, this being a place of deposit for the public 
funds in Washington City. Branches called sub- 
treasuries were also established in other cities. This 
system is still in existence. 

3. THE HARRISON AND TYLER ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1841 to 1845. 

A Whig President Elected.— From 1800 up to 1840 
all the Presidents had been Democratic, but in 1840 
General William Henry Harrison, a Whig, was elected. 
He was the hero of the battle of Tippecanoe, and as it 
was said that he Hved in a log cabin and drank hard 
cider, log cabins and cider were the great features of 
the campaign. But he was an old man and not strong 
enough to bear the worry of office seekers and he died 
April 4, 1841, just one month after taking his seat. 

13 



194 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESb 

John Tyler as President. — John Tyler, of Virginia, 
had been elected Vice-President and the death of 
Harrison made him President. He had been elected on 
the Whig ticket, but was more a Democrat than a 
Whig, and he greatly displeased the party which had 
elected him by vetoing a number of its bills. One of 
these was to establish another United States Bank. 

The War for Freedom in Texas. — The most impor- 
tant event which occurred while Tyler was President 
was the request of Texas to be made part of the United 
States. Texas had been held by Spain since the time 
La Salle's colony was destroyed by the Spaniards, 
and when Mexico gained its freedom from Spain 
Texas became part of it. But many Americans had 
settled in that country, and they did not like the w^ay in 
which they were treated by the Mexican government. 
So they rebelled and began a war for freedom. 

This war began in 1835, and in 1836 the Mexicans 
were defeated and forced to leave the country. Texas 
became independent. But after some years it asked 
to be made a part of the United States. The Northern 
people were opposed to this, for they knew that it 
would be a slave State; but finally, in 1845, it was 
accepted as a State. This was a large addition to the 
United States, for Texas is an extensive country. 

4. POLK'S ADMINISTRATION AND WAR WITH MEXICO. 

From 1845 to 1849. 

The Election of 1844. — In 1844 Henry Clay, a great 
and popular orator, was nominated by the Whig party, 
and James K. Polk, by the Democratic. They were 
both Southern men, but Polk was little known, while 






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POLK'S ADMINISTRATION 195 

Clay was a public favorite and everybody expected him 
to be elected. But he lost favor in some of the States by 
concealing his true sentiments about the annexation of 
Texas. This was not manly, and it lost him the elec- 
tion, New York going against him by a small majority.. 

Hostilities with Mexico. — There was a great show of 
indignation in Mexico when Texas was made a part of 
the United States, for it was claimed that it still 
belonged to Mexico. War was likely to come, and it 
was desired in the South, where the planters hoped to 
conquer still more territory from Mexico and thus make 
room for new slave States. There was also a dispute 
about the boundary. 

Mexico claimed that the western boundary of Texas 
was the Nueces River, while the United States claimed 
that it was the Rio Grande, a hundred miles farther 
west. Both countries sent armies into this disputed 
territory, and as soon as they met they began to fight. 
Two battles were fought. The Americans were vic- 
torious in each, and the Mexicans had to retreat. 

The Advance into Mexico. — General Taylor was in 
command of the American army. He now crossed the 
Rio Grande and took possession of Matamoras, a 
Mexican town. When the news of this was received 
there was great excitement. Many of the people did 
not want to go to w^ar, but others did, and Congress 
voted in favor of war. Many volunteers joined General 
Taylor's army, and he marched into the country and 
captured the strong city of Monterey, w^here there were 
ten thousand Mexican troops. 

The Battle of Buena Vista. — General Taylor pushed 
on into the mountain region. He had only five thou- 



196 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 

sand men, and the Mexican general, Santa Anna, was 
marching against him with more than twenty thousand. 
They met on February 22, 1847, at a place called Buena 
Vista. General Taylor was in great danger, for most 
of his men w^ere volunteers, while the Mexicans were 
trained soldiers. But he took possession of a narrow 
pass through the mountains. All day long the Mexi- 
cans tried to drive the American army out of this pass, 
but they could not do it, and at night they retreated 
in great haste and disorder. 

The Capture of Vera Cruz. — There was no more 
fighting in the north of Mexico. It had been decided 
to carry the war to the south, and General Scott was 
sent with a fleet and army to attack the city of Vera 
Cruz, the principal sea-port of Mexico. There was a 
very strong fortress at Vera Cruz, but it was soon 
forced to surrender. The Mexicans could not stand 
the cannon-balls that were poured like hail -stones 
into their fort. 

The March to the City of Mexico. — The road from 
Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico is over a mountainous 
country, and the passes in these mountains were held 
by the Mexicans. Their army was much stronger 
than that of General Scott, but he marched on and 
drove them back wherever he met them. When the 
Americans got near the city there were many battles 
to fight, but every one of them ended in a victory for 
General Scott's army. 

The most important battle was at Chapultepec. 
This was a strong fort on the top of a very steep hill. 
The Americans had to climb up the hill and get into 
the fort by ladders, while musket- and cannon-balls 



POLK'S ADMINISTRATION 



197 



came down on them like hail; but they fought their 
way up the hill and got into the fort, from which they 
drove the Mexicans. 

The next day, September 14, 1847, the Americans 
marched into the City of Mexico, and took possession. 
That was the last battle of the .war, and Santa Anna, 
the Mexican President, asked for peace. 




General Scott's Entkt into the City of Mexico. 



The War Elsewhere. — But this is not the whole 
story of the war. While the fighting we have described 
was taking place, an army under General Kearney had 
marched into New Mexico and taken possession of it. 
Captain John C. Fremont, with sixty men, was at this 
time in California. He had been sent there to explore 
the country, but as soon as he heard that war was 
going on he got the American settlers to join him, and 
began to drive out the Mexican soldiers. He was 



198 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 

helped in this by an American fleet, and by General 
Kearney, and soon all California was held by the 
United States. 

New Territory Acquired. — At the end of the war the 
American army had full possession of New Mexico 
and California, and w^hen the treaty of peace was 
signed Mexico was obliged to give up this territory^ 
though the United States agreed to pay for it fifteen 
million dollars. Thus a great district, containing more 
than half a million square miles, was added to the 
United States. This district now contains the States 
of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado 
and Wyoming, with the Territories of Arizona and 
New Mexico. 

No one dreamed at that time how valuable this 
would prove to be. Some thought that the money 
paid for it was more than it was worth. It was thinly 
settled by Mexicans, with a few American settlers. 
Little gold had been found in it by the Mexicans, 
though they had been looking for gold for many years. 
So they did not think the country of much value, and 
were willing to give it up to the United States for the 
money paid. 

The Discovery of Gold. — But a year or two later 
they would have given ten times as much to have it 
back again, for the Americans were not long there 
before gold was found. A workman who was building 
a mill-dam in the Sacramento Valley found shining 
yellow particles in the gravel. He eagerly gathered 
some of this mineral, took it to his employer and had 
it tested. It proved to be gold. At once everybody 
quit working and went on the hunt for gold. Plenty 



THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE 199 

of it was found, and when the news was heard by the 
people of the east they began to emigrate in great num- 
bers to the west, every one eager to make his fortune. 
There proved to be gold in very many parts of the 
territory. It was found in the sand, in the river-beds, 
in the rock; in dust, and in lumps. The stories told 
of the finding of gold w^ere like fairy tales, and thou- 
sands of people hurried to California, eager for wealth. 
Silver mines were also discovered, and since that time 
an immense amount of gold and silver has been taken 
from that country, though at first it was thought of 
so little value. But California would be rich if it had 
no gold or silver. Its soil is very fertile, and every 
year great quantities of grain and fruits are raised. 
The timber on its mountains is also of high value. 
The Mexicans got nothing from it in three hundred 
years, but the Americans have made it a rich and 
populous State in much less than one hundred years. 

5 THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE. 

Increase of Territory. — In the period which we have 
just considered the country had made great progress. 
Let us stop here and take a look back at what had 
been done. 

First, it is important to consider the size of the 
United States. We have told how it had gained a great 
territory from Mexico. But other territory had come 
to it of which we must now tell the story. 

Lewis and Clark's Expedition. — When France sold 
the country west of the Mississippi to the United 
States no one knew how large that country was, or 
what might be found in it. So two men. Captains Lewis 



200 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 

and Clark, were sent out to see what it was like. There 
were thirty men with them, and they left St. Louis in 
1804 and were more than two years in a wilderness 
where no white man had ever set foot before. They 
went up the Missouri River as far as they could, and 
then, crossing the Rocky Mountains, went down the 
Columbia River till they reached the Pacific Ocean. 

When they came back, they had wonderful stories 
to tell of the tribes they had seen and the adventures 
they had met with. They were probably the first 
white men that beheld the vast multitudes of buffalo 
on the western plains. They had seen herds of them a 
mile wide crossing the rivers like a great army. 

The Fur Trade. — These explorers found that the 
Indians of the Pacific coast had furs to sell, and a New 
York merchant named John Jacob Astor sent men there 
to trade for furs. He grew very rich in this business. 
His trading post was afterwards sold to a British fur 
company, and on this account the British wished to lay 
claim to the territory about the Columbia River. 

The Story of Oregon. — In 1792 Captain Robert Gray, 
the first to carry the American flag around the world 
in his ship, the Columbia, discovered a great river of 
on the Pacific coast, to which he gave the name his 
vessel. 

In later years the Hudson's Bay Company, which 
controlled the fur trade of British America, extended 
its business into Oregon, and an agreement was made 
in 1818 by which the people of the United States and 
Great Britain were permitted to fish, hunt, and trade 
there for ten years. This was afterwards renewed 
from year to year. 



THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE 201 

American Settlers. — In 1832 the American fur 
traders in Oregon were followed there by a party of 
settlers, and others succeeded until by 1846 there were 
several thousand Americans in the country. There 
had arisen a question between England and the United 
States as to the proper boundary between their western 
possessions. England's claim extended southward to 
the Columbia River; the Americans' claim extended 
northward to 54° 40', the southern boundary of Russian 
America, now known as Alaska. 

Oregon Treaty. — In 1846 the dispute was settled by 
a compromise, a treaty being made with England which 
decided that the parallel of 49° should be the boundary. 
This parallel already formed the boundary east of the 
Rocky Mountains. Thus the country which we now 
know as the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, 
with parts of Montana and Wyoming west of the main 
range of the mountains, became part of the United States. 

Growth of the Country. — The great republic had 
made a wonderful growth in fifty years. In 1800 the 
United States was bounded on the west by the Missis- 
sippi River, and on the south by Florida. It did not 
reach to the Gulf of Mexico, for Florida had a strip of 
land fifty miles wide along the Gulf coast. By 1850 
it had gained Florida and the whole vast country 
between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean, 
together with Texas and the whole of Northern Mexico. 
In fifty years it had grown to three times its original 
size, and had become one of the greatest countries on 
the earth. We may well call this a wonderful progress. 

Population. — The population was growing as fast as 
the country Many steamships now crossed the ocean. 



202 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 

and immigrants were coming in by thousands. Most 
of these settled in the East, but great numbers of the 
Eastern people went west. This was not difficult to 
do. Every river had its steamboats, and railroads were 
being built in all parts of the country, so that it was 
becoming an easy matter to travel long distances. 
New cities started up in the West. In 1830 there was 
only a fort at Chicago. Now it is one of the largest 
cities in the country. In other places where there are 
large cities now there was only the wilderness then. 

Emigration West. — But there were no railroads or 
steamboats to carry emigrants across the Rocky 
Mountains to the Pacific coast. Those who went there 
had to travel in wagons drawn by oxen or horses. 
It was a journey of great hardships and danger. The 
emigrants were often attacked and murdered by the 
Indians. Sometimes they were smothered in the 
snows, or died of starvation. The road was marked 
by the bones of dead animals. Yet large numbers 
crossed that way, and the Western country rapidly 
filled up. 

The Mormons. — It was the desire for gold and silver 
that took most of these emigrants across the mountains. 
Others went to settle on farms or to do business in 
cities. But some of them went for a different purpose. 
These were the Mormons, a religious sect which had 
been started by a man named Joseph Smith, who said 
he had found a book of religious teachings written on 
gold plates that were buried in the earth. He called 
this the ''Book of Mormon." The Mormons first 
settled in the region near the Mississippi River, but 
the people did not like their doings, and mobs drove 



THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE 



203 



them away. So in the end they crossed the mountains 
and settled in the country since known as Utah, and 
which was made a Territory of the United States in 1850. 
Increase of Wealth. — The country was fast growing 
rich. In 1850 it contained over twenty-three milHon 
people and workshops and factories were being built 




Old and New Types of Locomotives. 

in all directions. One could hear the rattle of machinery 
all over the land. America no longer depended on 
England for goods. Goods were made here in great 
variety, but much also came across the ocean, and the 
shops wxre filled with costly articles. 

Mines and Forests. — Among the riches of America 
must be named the products of the mines. Pennsyl- 



204 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 

vania brought great quantities of coal and iron into 
the market. In New York there were mines of salt. 
Lead mines were worked in Illinois and Iowa, and 
rich copper mines in Michigan. Since that time these 
substances have been found in other places, while 
gold and silver have been found in many parts of the 
Rocky Mountains. The forests of America proved also 
of very great value, and every year immense quanti- 
ties of timber are cut, to be made into ships, houses, 
furniture, and very many other things. 

Valuable Inventions. — During this period there were 
many inventions, some of which became very valu- 
able. Among these is the electric telegraph, which is 
almost as important as the railroad. Samuel F. B. 
Morse was the American inventor of this. His first 
patent was taken out in 1837, but people could not be 
made to believe in the telegraph, and it was not tried, 
except for short distances, till 1844. Then a line was 
established from Baltimore to Washington. It proved a 
great success, and there are now nearly three hundred 
thousand miles of telegraph lines in the United States. 

Other inventions of great value were made. One of 
these was the reaping-machine, which has been a 
very great help to farmers. Another was the friction- 
match. It is so easy now to strike a light and make a 
fire that it seems strange how people ever got along 
without matches. Another great invention was that 
of vulcanized rubber. Before then india-rubber was 
soft and of little use; but by mixing sulphur with it 
it was made hard and firm, and it came into use for 
a great many purposes. The sewing-machine, which 
was invented in 1846, was quite as useful. Before that 



THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE 



205 



time all sewing had to be done by hand, and the labor 
was very great. Besides these there were hundreds 
of other inventions, all of which have helped people 
to live better, and to do more work with less labor. 

The Prisons. — In old times the prisons were very 
badly managed and those confined in them were treated 
cruelly. Most of the States whipped their prisoners 
and ill-treated them in other ways. One State kept its 
criminals in an old copper-mine. Men were sent to 
prison for debt. All this 
is now done away with, 
and prisoners in most of 
the States are well 
treated. They are made 
to work, but they have 
clean and healthful 
rooms and good food. 

Education. — E d u c a - 
tion had also very much 
improved. Public 
schools had been estab- 
lished in nearly all the 
States, and many more of the people were educated 
than in the past. But the methods of teaching and the 
school-books used were still poor, and they have been 
improving ever since. In the early days of the country 
there had been little time for study or amusement; most 
of the time was taken to make a living. But now people 
had more time to themselves and they paid much more 
attention to public afTairs and to education. 

Newspapers and Books. — Most of the people had 
learned how to read, and newspapers were now pub- 




The Old Ephrata Press. 



206 



TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 



lished in all the cities and spread throughout the 
country. These papers were much larger and had much 
more in them than those of the past, though they were 
not so large as those we have now. Books were also 
far more plentiful and much cheaper. Those who at 
one time did not know how to spend their time now 
had no trouble. There were many innocent amuse- 
ments, and it was not necessary to go for pleasure to 
drinking-places or other localities where bad habits 
might be learned. 




A Modern Printing-Press. 



Authors and Orators. — Many Americans were now 
writing books which were read all over the civilized 
world. At one time the English had laughed at the 
idea of any one reading an American book, but they 
now began to read works by American authors them- 
selves. And it was admitted that America had some 
of the greatest statesmen of the world. Daniel Webster 
was one of the ablest orators that had ever lived, and 
there were many other men of great ability in the 
American Congress. 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 207 

Thus it may be seen that the United States had 
made wonderful progress in every way. It was a very 
different country from what it had been at the time of 
the Revolution. It was then one of the small and poor 
countries of the world; now it was becoming one of 
the great and rich nations. But it had a terrible trial 
to go through yet, in which all its wealth and power 
were to be strained to the utmost. The story of this 
great trial we have next to tell. 



PART VL— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

1. \^Tio became President in 1829? Why was he popular? What 
was his character? What difficulty arose w^th South Carolina? 
^\Tiat did that State do? What did Jackson do? How long did 
the United States Bank have to run? What did Jackson do about 
the bank charter bill? What effect did it have? What Indians 
went to war? 

2. What was meant by wild cat and pet banks? Describe the 
panic of 1837. What caused injury to American credit? What is 
the sub-treasury system? 

3. Who became President in 1840? What happened to him? 
Who succeeded him? What important affair took place while 
Tyler was President? How did the Texan war end? WTien was 
Texas accepted as a State of the Union? 

4. Who was made President in 1844? What claim w^as made 
by Mexico about Texas? What took place in the disputed region? 
What did General Taylor do? Where did he meet Santa Anna's 
army? What was the result of the battle? What ]\Iexican city 
was attacked by General Scott? To what point did he march from 
Vera Cruz? What was the result of his battles with the Mexicans? 
When was the city of Mexico taken? What did Fremont do in 
California? ^Vhat new territory did the United States acquire 
by the treaty of peace? AVhat present States and Territories does 
it comprise? What was thought then of the value of this terri- 



208 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS 

tory? Describe the finding of gold in California. What other 
precious metal was found? What other value has California? 
What effect did the discovery of gold have upon emigration? 

5. Who was the first to explore the Western territory of the 
United States? What is said of the fur trade on the Pacific? WTien 
was Oregon discovered? How many people were there in 1840? 
By what treaty was Oregon acquired? WTiat were the boundaries 
of the United States in 1800? W^at had it gained by 1850? How 
was emigration made easier? How did emigrants cross the Rocky 
Mountain region? Tell the story of the Mormons. What was the 
population in 1850? What was the progress in industry? What 
is said about the mines of America? Who invented the American 
electric telegraph? In what year was the first line built? How 
many miles of telegraph are there now in the United States? What 
other important inventions were made? How was india-rubber 
made useful? When was the sewing-machine invented? How 
were the prisons managed in old times? How are they now? 
How were schools then? How are they now? What is said about 
newspapers and books? What did the English think about Ameri- 
can books? What do they think now? Who was the greatest 
American orator? 



PART VII. 

THE SLAVERY CONTEST AND CIVIL WAR. 



1. THE TAYLOR AND FILLMORE ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1849 to 1853. 

An Exciting Question. — The ten years between 1850 
and 1860 were years of intense excitement and much 
bitter feeling in this country. The question of the 
extension of slavery to new States, which had been 
settled for thirty years by the Missouri Compromise, 
was opened again and led to angry controversy in 
Congress, while there was a large party in the North 
which claimed that all slavery was wrong and that it 
should be done away with in the States where it had 
long existed. It was a controversy that in ten years 
was to lead to a terrible war. 

The Election of 1848.— In 1848 the Whig party 
selected General Zachary Taylor, the popular hero of 
the Mexican War, for its candidate and was successful 
in electing him. Millard Fillmore was elected Vice- 
President. But the Whigs met with the same mis- 
fortune in this as in their former victory, for once 
more their President died in office. The death of 
President Taylor came on the 9th of July, 1850, Vice- 
President Fillmore succeeding him. Before the term 
of the latter ended some of his party blamed him almost 
as much as they had formerly blamed President Tyler. 

The Sources of Controversy. — The people of the 
South wished to have slavery introduced into the new 

14 209 



210 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

territory that had been acquired from Mexico. This 
was strongly opposed by the Anti-slavery party of 
the North, and though Texas became a slave State, 
slavery was never admitted to the remainder of this 
territory. Objection was also made in the North to 
the existence of the slave trade within the city of 
Washington, and in the South to the aid given run- 
away slaves by Northern sympathizers. This made the 
Southern people very indignant, for they felt that 
they were being unjustly deprived of their property. 

The Compromise of 1850. — The debate on these sub- 
jects grew violent in Congress, but the trouble was 
finally settled for the time by Henry Clay, the author 
of the Missouri Compromise. He now brought for- 
ward a new compromise bill, which was passed and 
which it was hoped would end the controversy. It 
covered these points: California was to be admitted 
as a free State, the slave-trade in Washington was 
prohibited, and stringent provisions were made for 
the return of runaway slaves to their owners. 

The Fugitive Slave Law. — The law for the return of 
fugitive slaves included the following points. To aid 
a slave to escape was made a serious crime, and all 
persons called upon by the officers of the law were 
required to aid in arresting fugitives. President Fill- 
more signed this law and it was this for which the 
anti-slavery people blamed him. 

The Underground Railroad. — As it turned out, very 
few persons in the North were willing to aid in arrest- 
ing fugitive slaves. Many aided in the escape of 
slaves, this being done by secret methods which became 
known as the '^Underground Railroad." Slaves who 



THE PIERCE ADMINISTRATION 211 

had been seized were rescued. Hundreds were helped 
to escape to Canada. In some places riots broke out. 
The law added much to the strength of the Anti- 
Slavery party, and the opposition to it greatly increased 
the feeling of anger and indignation in the South. 

2. THE PIERCE ADMINISTRATION. 
From 1853 to 1857. 

The Election of 1852. — In 1852 came another Presi- 
dential election, and in this the Democratic party was 
successful, Franklin Pierce, their candidate, being 
elected. He was born in New Hampshire and was one 
of the pro-slavery Democrats of whom there were still 
very many in the North. 

The Kansas=Nebraska Bill. — In 1854 a bill was 
passed in Congress which opened an old question 
that had long been closed. This was intended for the 
formation of two new Territories in the region west of 
Missouri, to be called Kansas and Nebraska. These 
lay north of the parallel of 36° 30', and according to 
the existing law slaves could not be admitted within 
them. But the new law said that they should be open 
to slavery if their inhabitants desired it. 

The Effect of the Law. — This law caused much angry 
and bitter feeling. It set aside the Missouri Comprom- 
ise and opened the whole diflBculty again. People 
began to hurry into Kansas. The South wanted to 
get the most men there, so that when it came to a 
vote they could vote for slavery. The North tried to 
do the same thing, so that they could vote against 
slavery. Very soon these men of different opinions 
began to fight. Towns were burned and people were 



212 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

killed in Kansas. Votes were taken and both parties 
claimed to have won. One party tried to organize a 
slave State and the other a free State, and the people 
of the Territory for a long time were at war. 

The New Parties. — While these things were going on 
political changes were taking place. The old Whig 
party ceased to exist, and there came up a new one 
called the Free Soil Party. It was opposed to the 
making of anv more slave States. In 1856 the Free 
Soil and the old Whig parties became part of a new 
party, the Republican. After this the people were 
divided into the two leading political sections which 
we still have, the Republican and the Democratic 
parties. These have now several points of difference, 
but the principal one at that time was slavery. 

3. THE BUCHANAN ADMINISTRATION. 
From 1857 to 1861. 

The Election of 1856. — In 1856 the Democrats and 
the new party of Republicans had candidates in the 
field, but the Democrats were successful, James Bu- 
chanan of Pennsylvania being elected President. The 
Republican party opposed the extension of slavery to 
new territory, but in it were many abolitionists, those 
who wanted slavery to be done away with everywhere. 
Yet there were many in the North who sympathized 
with the South and who were in favor of letting slav- 
ery alone and strongly opposed the anti-slavery 
agitation. 

The Dred Scott Case. — About this time a decision 
was given in the Supreme Court that startled the 
North. A slave named Dred Scott had been taken by 



THE BUCHANAN ADIVflNISTRATION 213 

his master to a Northern State. After living there 
for some years he was taken South again. He now 
demanded his freedom, saying that his long residence 
on free soil had made him a freeman. The court 
decided against this, saying that slave-owners had 
the right to take their slaves where they pleased and 
keep them there as they could keep any other piece 
of property. 

This seemed to open up the w^hole North to slavery. 
Under the decision slave-owners might live in any 
State they pleased and keep there as many slaves as 
they chose. It did much to increase the growing 
opposition to the slave-holding system. 

The John Brown Raid. — -An event which took place 
in 1859 added much to the stress of public feeling. 
There was an old man, named John Brown, who had 
been very active in Kansas, and had fought fiercely 
against the Southern party there. He was so bitter 
against slavery that he thought it was his duty to stir 
up the slaves to rebel against their masters and make 
themselves free by force. 

So he led a party to Harper's Ferry, in Virginia, 
where there was an arsenal belonging to the govern- 
ment. He took possession of this. It was his purpose 
to get the slaves together, give them arms fromi the 
arsenal, and lead them to fight for their freedom. 
But no slaves came to help him, and very soon he and 
his party were taken prisoners by a force of United 
States soldiers. 

John Brown was given up to the authorities of 
Virginia, who tried him for treason. He was found 
guilty and hanged. 



214 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

Election of Lincoln. — This event stirred up the feel- 
ings of the people more than ever. Even many of those 
who thought that John Brown was wrong felt sym- 
pathy for him, and when the time came for the next 
Presidential election, in 1860, the two parties were very 
bitter against each other, while the Republican party 
had grown much stronger. When the votes were 
counted it proved that the Republicans had elected 
their candidate. This was Abraham Lincoln, of 
Illinois, who took his seat as President of the United 
States on the 4th of March, 1861. 

When he was elected the country was at peace, 
and most of the people had no idea that war would 
follow. When he took his seat the country was on 
the verge of war. We have now to tell how this 
change came about. 

4. THE LINCOLN ADMINISTRATION. 
From 1861 to 1865. 

The state Rights Doctrine. — The election was no 
sooner over than trouble began. The political leaders 
in South Carolina had said that their State would 
secede if Lincoln was elected President. What did 
they mean by this? Let us see. The United States, 
as we know, is made up of a number of States which 
have joined together to form one country. Some 
people believed that each State had the right to with- 
draw again if it wished, and carry on its government 
alone. This is known as the ''State Rights" doctrine. 
Others believed that the States had no right to with- 
draw, and that they had given up all such rights when 
they came into the Union. 



THE LINCOLN ADMINISTRATION 



215 




Abraham Lincoln. 



This was the question that was now before the 
people, — whether the United States was strong enough 
to hold together as a single nation, or so weak that 
the States could leave the Union at 
their will. This problem was to be 
settled in the next four years. 

Seven States secede. — As soon as 
it was known that Lincoln had 
been elected, the leaders in South 
Carolina determined to keep their 
word. A convention of delegates 
met, and on December 20, 1860, it 
was declared to the world that this 
State was no longer a part of the 
United States, but an independent nation, that it 
could not be kept in the Union against its will, and 
that in future it intended to govern itself. Very soon 
afterwards all the States that border on the Gulf of 

Mexico did the same thing. Seven 
States in all declared that they 
were out of the Union. 

The Confederacy formed. — These 
States then formed a new Union 
which they called the Confederate 
States of America. Jefferson Davis 
was elected President, and Alex- 
ander H. Stephens Vice-President, 
and Montgomery, Alabama, was 
selected as the capital of the new Confederacy. These 
States seized the forts and the war material in their 
territory, for they felt sure that they would not be 
allowed to go in peace. But some forts were held by 




Jefferson Davis. 



216 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

United States officers and soldiers who would not give 
them up. One of these was Fort Sumter, in Charleston 
harbor, which was held by Major Robert Anderson. 
Fort Sumter bombarded. — It was thus that matters 
stood when Abraham Lincoln took his seat as Presi- 
dent, on the 4th of March, 1861. The Confederate 
authorities at Charleston had determined that Fort 
Sumter should be theirs, and had built batteries on 
the shores of the bay near it. On the 12th of April, 
1861, they began to fire on the fort. Major Anderson 
fired back. This continued for two days. At the end 
of that time the fort was much injured, its barracks 
were on fire, and nearly all its powder was gone. So 
Major Anderson consented to give it up, as he could 
defend it no longer. 

5. THE NORTH AND SOUTH AT WAR. 

The Call for Volunteers. — When the news that 
the American flag had been fired on at Fort Sumter 
reached the North there was intense excitement. It 
was looked upon as an insult to the national banner 
and all hope of peace passed away. Everybody saw 
that there must be war if the country was to be 
kept together. The President called for volunteers, 
and great numbers offered. In the South four more 
States seceded, — Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, 
and Tennessee. Everywhere men were gathering, 
drilling, and marching. It was clear that before many 
days they would meet in deadly conflict. 

The Battle of Bull Run. — Thousands of volunteers 
hurried to V^ashington to save that city from danger. 
A Southern army collected in Virginia, just south of 



FROM 



GRCeNWICN 




-o- 



^-'- Cedar^Keys 



EXPLANATION 

Early Seceding States; thus .TEXAS 

Later Seceding States; thus VIRGINIA 

Blocliading Vessels, thus -"^3^ 



FROM 



WASHINGTON 



THE NORTH AND SOUTH AT WAR 



217 



Washington. On the 21st of July these two armies 
met near Bull Run, a small stream a few miles from 
Washington. Here the first important battle of 
ihe war was fought. There were about thirty thou- 
sand men on each side. They were all new troops 
but they fought well. For a while it looked as if the 
Union army would win; but just then a fresh force 
joined the Confederates, and on seeing this the Union 
ranks broke into dis- 
order, and the sol- 
diers fled in a panic 
to Washington. The 
Southern army had 
gained the victory. 

This battle had a 
great effect. The 
people of the South 
were full of joy. Some 
of them thought that 
this one victory 

would end the war; but it only made the North more 
determined. Congress called for half a million of men 
and voted to borrow five hundred million dollars. On 
every side volunteers flocked to the camps. Large 
armies were soon in the field on both sides. 

The War that followed. — And now we have to tell 
the story of a time that was full of important events. 
Many great battles were fought and hundreds of small 
ones. It would need a large book to describe them, 
and then we would only be telling how thousands of 
men were killed and wounded, how millions of dollars' 
worth of property was destroyed, and how for years 




Stone Bridge at Bull Run. 



218 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

terror and ruin hung over the whole country. It would 
be of no advantage to tell all this, and we shall simply 
give an outline of what took place. 

During the remainder of 1861 there was not much 
fighting, both sides being busy in raising and drilling 
their forces, collecting arms, and making all the 
preparation they could for the struggle before them. 
Then, at the opening of 1862, both armies took the field. 
The Contest in the West. — The fighting took place in 
three regions, — in the West, in Virginia, and on the 

ocean. In the West the United 
States wanted to get control of 
the rivers that ran south. The 
Confederate States tried to pre- 
vent this, and built two strong 
forts on the Tennessee and Cum- 
berland Rivers, in Kentucky, and 
also powerful works on the Mis- 
sissippi. The Unionists had cov- 

U. S.Grant. ■, j. i i -ii 

ered some steamboats with iron 
plates and sent them down these rivers as gun-boats. 
An army marched overland at the same time. This 
was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant, who 
was afterwards to become famous. 

Battle of Pittsburg Landing. — The two forts we have 
named were soon taken, with many prisoners, and the 
Confederate army retreated to Tennessee. General 
Grant followed, and made his camp at Shiloh, or 
Pittsburg Landing, on the Tennessee River. Here 
there took place one of the most desperate battles of 
the war. Grant's army was attacked by a strong 
army under General Albert Sydney Johnston. The 




THE NORTH AND SOUTH AT WAR 219 

fighting continued with great fury for two days. On 
the first day the Union army was driven back in much 
confusion and with great loss of life, but in the night a 
fresh force came up, and the next day Grant's army 
drove back the Confederates and held the field. Both 
sides had fought hard and lost many men, but the 
battle ended in favor of the Northern army. 

Murfreesborough. — Much other fighting took place 
in the West during the year, and a great battle was 
fought at Murfreesborough, in Tennessee, on the last 
day of 1862. The two armies fought all day, and three 
days later there was another battle. Then Bragg, the 
Confederate general, withdrew his army and fell back 
to Chattanooga. The end of the year's fighting left the 
Union army in possession of all Kentucky and Tennessee. 

On the Mississippi. — While this was going on there 
was a severe struggle along the Mississippi River. The 
Union gun-boats and armies had gone down this river 
and captured all the forts of the Confederates, till 
they came to the city of Vicksburg, where very strong 
forts had been built. 

At the same time a fleet, commanded by Admiral 
Farragut, had sailed to the mouth of the Mississippi. 
There were several forts along this part of the river, 
but the fleet fought its way past them and kept on 
until it reached the city of New Orleans, which was 
forced to surrender. This took place on April 25, 1862. 

Vicksburg. — Then the fleet went on up the river and 
captured other places. It ran past the batteries at 
Vicksburg and joined the fleet above. Thus nearly the 
whole of the great river of the West was held by the 
North. But the Confederates had two strong places, 



220 



SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 



Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and held control of the 
river between them, so that they could get supplies 
from Texas and the other States west of the Mississippi. 
It was the purpose of the Union leaders to capture these 
places and get control of the whole river, and thus cut 
the Confederacy in two. 




The Fleet Running the Batteries at Vicksburg. 

The War in Virginia. — It will be seen that in the 
West the Union army had gained great successes. 
They held Kentucky and Tennessee and part of 
Mississippi, and had won nearly the whole of the 
Mississippi River. In Virginia, on the contrary, the 
Confederates had been successful, and had gained 
several important victories, in which the Union armies 
met with great loss. 



THE NORTH AND SOUTH AT WAR 



221 



As soon as Virginia seceded the city of Richmond 
was made the capital of the Confederacy, and Jefferson 
Davis, the President, with the rest of the Confederate 
government, went there. So a great part of the war 
took place between the two capital cities, Washington 
and Richmond. Efforts were made to capture both 
these cities, but neither of them was taken until 
Richmond fell at the end of the war. 

Siege of Richmond. — Early in 1862, General McClel- 
lan, who commanded the Union army, moved south 
to Yorktown, the place w^here the 
army of Cornwallis had been cap- 
tured eighty years before. After 
some fighting there he marched 
towards Richmond and built lines 
of earthworks near that city. A 
battle was fought at a place called 
Fair Oaks, where General Joseph 
Johnston, who commanded the Con- 
federate army, was badly wounded. 
General Robert E. Lee took Johnston's place as Con- 
federate commander. This was an excellent choice for 
the Confederates, for General Lee proved himself to be 
one of the greatest soldiers of modern times. 

Stonewall Jackson. — While these events were taking 
place. General Jackson, one of the boldest and most 
skilful of the Confederate commanders, was w^inning 
victories in the Shenandoah Valley, which lies to the 
north-west of Richmond. He w^as usually called 
''Stonewall" Jackson, because he was said to have 
held his troops ''like a stone wall" in the battle of 
Bull Run. 




Robert E. Lee. 



222 



SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 



The Seven Days' Fight. — General Lee now decided to 
make an attack on McClellan. He sent for Stonewall 
Jackson to help him, and on June 26 made an assault 
on the Union lines. A series of dreadful battles fol- 
lowed. Each army had nearly one hundred thousand 
men, but the Union army suffered a severe defeat, 
and McClellan began to retreat towards the James 
River. Lee's army followed, and the fighting was kept 
up for seven days, there being a desperate battle every 
day. In some of these one side, in some the other, was 

successful, but the retreat con- 
tinued till the James River was 
reached. Here McClellan built 
strong lines of earthworks and was 
safe from further attack. Thous- 
ands had been killed and wounded 
on each side and the siege of 
Richmond had to be given up. 
Second Battle of Bull Run. — 
Another Union army had now col- 
lected in Virginia, under General Pope, and was sta- 
tioned in the region south of Washington. In August, 
General Lee marched suddenly to the north and made 
an attack on this army. The battle took place near the 
old battle-ground of Bull Run. It was one of terrible 
slaughter and in the end the Union army was defeated 
and forced back towards the capital city. 

Antletam. — Then General Lee led his army across 
the Potomac into Maryland, where he hoped that 
many volunteers would join him. General McClellan, 
who had brought his army back from Richmond, 
followed in great haste. The two armies met on Sep- 




Stonewall Jackson. 



THE NORTH AND SOUTH AT WAR 223 

tember 17, at Antietam Creek, in the west of Mary- 
land. The battle that followed was one of the most 
desperate of the war. While neither side could claim 
a victory, Lee's movement north was checked and he 
soon after crossed the Potomac again and marched 
back into Virginia. 

Fredericksburg. — There was one more terrible battle 
in Virginia during the year. This was at the town of 
Fredericksburg. General Lee had his army on the hills 
back of that town. General Burnside, who now com- 
manded the Union army, crossed the river and attacked 
him. The slaughter that followed was dreadful. The 
Union army w^as completely defeated, and had about 
twelve thousand men killed and wounded. This ended 
the fighting in Virginia for that year. 

The Blockade Runners. — While these things were 
taking place there were some important operations of 
the fleet, of which we must now speak. Both sides 
had been busy building vessels of war, and a Union 
fleet was sent down the coast which took possession of 
large districts in North and South Carolina, and others 
in Georgia and Florida. These were held till the end 
of the war; but the sea-ports of Charleston, Savannah^ 
and Wilmington were kept by the Confederates. 
They were blockaded by the Union fleet, but in spitf* 
of the fleet a great many vessels got into them. These 
were called ''blockade runners.'' They took out 
cotton, rice, tobacco, and other articles and brought 
back things needed in the South, much of the cargo 
being war material. 

The Work of the Merrimac. — A United States war- 
vessel called the Merrimac had been sunk in the harbor 



224 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

of Norfolk to keep it from being taken by the Con- 
federates. This was raised by some of the mechanics 
of the South and covered with plates of iron. Then 
it steamed out and attacked the wooden war-vessels 
of a fleet that lay in Hampton Roads. These fired on 
it, but the heavy cannon-balls glanced off from the 
iron hull as if they had been hail-stones. One of the 
wooden vessels was sunk, and great fear was felt as 
to what this iron monster would do. It looked as if 
it might destroy the Union fleet and attack the cities 
of the North. 

The Monitor and the Merrimac. — But the Union side 
had been building iron vessels too. One of these was 
of very strange shape. It had a flat deck that came 
just above the water; on this was a round tower of 
iron in which were two very heavy cannon. People 
called it a '^cheese-box on a raft,'' and that was what 
it looked like. It was sent down to Hampton Roads, 
and reached there the night after the fight we have 
just described. 

The Merrimac was coming out to attack the other 
vessels, when this strange-looking craft, which was 
called the Monitor, came gliding towards it. A tre- 
mendous battle followed. The two iron ships battered 
each other with cannon-balls for four hours. Neither 
hurt the other much, but the Merrimac got the worst 
of it. In the end it turned and hurried back to Norfolk. 
Soon afterwards the Union forces captured Norfolk, 
but the Merrimac was destroyed to prevent its falling 
into their possession. 

This was the first fight that ever took place between 
two iron-clad ships. When the news got to Europe 



THE NORTH AND SOUTH AT WAR 225 

every one saw that the days of wooden war-ships were 
over. Since that time many iron-clad ships have been 
built, and the war-ships of the world are now covered 
with thick plates of steel. 

The Emancipation Proclamation. — The year 1862 
ended with a very important event. For a long time 
during the war slavery was not interfered with, and 
the President said that the object of the war was 
merely to bring back the seceded States into the 
Union. But in time he saw that the South was getting 
great help from the slaves, who were kept at work on 
the plantations and helped to build forts and do other 
work. It would weaken the Confederates very much 
if the slaves were taken from them. 

The President therefore announced that the slaves 
would be liberated on the 1st of January, 1863. On 
that day there was sent out what is known as the 
"Proclamation of Emancipation." It declared that 
all slaves within the area of the war were free and 
should be free forever after. 

The Freedom of the Slaves. — This proclamation had 
a great effect. From this time on the war was fought 
not only to bring back the seceded States, but to 
liberate the slaves. Many negro regiments were 
formed, and everything was done that could make the 
negroes useful to the North and deprive the South of 
their help. The Confederacy was very much weakened 
by this proclamation. As fast as the armies went 
South the slaves were set free, till in the end they all 
gained their freedom. Since the war there has not 
been a slave in the United States. 



226 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

6. THE FINAL YEARS OF THE WAR. 

Battle of Chancellorsville. — During the year 1863 the 
war went on with great activity. In the East there was 
not so much fighting as there had been the year before, 
but two great battles took place. One of these was at 
a place called Chancellorsville, in a very rough and 
wild country known as the Wilderness. General 
Hooker now had command of the Union army. He 
did not think it safe to attack General Lee at Fred- 
ericksburg, as General Burnside had done; so he led 
his army across the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers 
at a point above that city. 

General Lee hastened in the same direction, and the 
two armies met in the wild country of the Wilderness. 
A fierce battle took place in a place where the trees 
and bushes were so thick that the soldiers could hardly 
see each other. General Stonewall Jackson led a strong 
force to the left through the woods, and made a sud- 
den attack on the right wing of the Union army. It 
was a complete surprise and this part of the army vv^as 
driven back. The battle continued all the next day, and 
in the end Hooker was forced to retreat and to cross the 
river again. But Stonewall Jackson was wounded and 
died, which was a great loss to the Confederate side. 

Lee marches North. — The battle of Chancellorsville 
took place on the 2d and 3d of May, 1863. In the latter 
part of June, General Lee left Fredericksburg and 
marched at great speed to the north. It was thought 
he wished to take the city of Washington, and the Union 
army hastened to protect it. But Lee kept on north till he 
reached Maryland, and then went on into Pennsylvania. 



THE FINAL YEARS OF THE WAR 



227 



What he intended to do no one knew. Many feared 
he was going to march on Philadelphia and take pos- 
session of that rich city. The Union army followed 
him as fast as it could. The two armies came together 
near the small town of Gettysburg, in Southern 
Pennsylvania. General Hooker had now given up the 
command and General Meade had taken his place. 
He had brought the army north as fast as the soldiers 
could march. 




The Battle of Gettysburg. 

The Battle of Gettysburg.— The advance ranks of the 
two armies came together on the 1st of July, and a 
severe fight took place. The Confederates were the 
stronger, and the Union Une fell back to the top of a 
long hue of low hills called Cemetery Ridge, which 
the^'men quickly fortified, while the remainder of the 
army was hurried up. Here there was fought the 
greatest battle of the war. On July 2, General Lee 
made a desperate attack on the Union Unes. Terrible 
fighting took place, and many thousands were killed 
and wounded, but at the end of the day the Union 
army still held Cemetery Ridge. 



228 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

The next day General Lee sent a very strong force 
against one point of the Union Hnes. If the lines had 
been broken he would have gained the victory, but 
the charging force met with dreadful slaughter and 
was completely defeated. Most of those who were 
not killed were taken prisoners. Very few got back. 
This ended the battle. General Lee led his men back to 
Virginia. He had suffered a great defeat. Many look on 
the battle of Gettysburg as the tu ning-point of the war. 

The Siege of Vicksburg. — While this was taking place 
in the East the Union army was gaining another great 
success in the West. General Grant had made up his 
mind to capture Vicksburg and open the Mississippi 
River. General Sherman had attacked this town the 
year before, but had lost many men and been driven 
back. In the spring Grant moved his army to a posi- 
tion south of the town, and marched up and began to 
besiege it. 

There were two Confederate armies, one in the town 
and one outside of it. The one outside was defeated 
and forced to retreat, and the one inside was closed in 
by long lines of earthworks that reached the river 
both below and above the town. A terrible fire was 
kept up by the forts upon the city, and the gun-boats 
on the river threw in bomb-shells and cannon-balls 
from the other side. 

There was dreadful distress within the city. None 
could get out of it, and hundreds were being killed 
within it. To make it worse, the food gave out. Mules 
and horses were killed and eaten. Soon there was a 
famine in Vicksburg. There was much sickness also, 
and the storm of cannon-balls never ceased. 



THE FINAL YEARS OF THE WAR 229 

Vicksburg Surrenders. — This could not continue. 
On the 4th of July, the same day that Lee retreated 
from Gettysburg, Vicksburg surrendered. Twenty- 
seven thousand prisoners fell into General Grant's 
hands. This was a most important 4th of July for the 
people of the United States, for with it ended nearly 
all chance of success for the South. They fought on 
bravely, but it was a losing game from that time. 

Chattanooga. — Port Hudson surrendered three clays 
afterwards, and the whole length of the Mississippi 
was open now to the Union gun-boats. The rest of 
the fighting in the West for that year took place near 
the town of Chattanooga, in Tennessee. A severe 
battle was fought in September, in which the Union 
army was defeated. It retreated to Chattanooga, 
while the Confederate army took possession of the 
mountains around the city, and shut the Union army 
in so closely that it became very short of food. 

General Grant was now made commander of all the 
Western armies. He came to Chattanooga and took 
charge there. General Bragg, the Confederate com- 
mander, held strong positions on Lookout Mountain 
and Missionary Ridge, each of which was nearly half a 
mile high and defended by strong forts. Yet the 
Union army charged up the hills through all the fire 
of these forts. It was a desperate attempt, but the 
forts were taken and Bragg's army was driven out with 
great loss. This has always been considered one of 
the most brilliant victories of the war. 

Grant Commander=in=Chief. — In 1864, General Grant 
was made commander-in-chief of all the military forces 
of the United States. He at once laid plans to have the 



230 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

armies of the country work together and bring the war 
to an end as quickly as possible. General Sherman 
was left in command of the Western army, while Grant 
came to Virginia and took control of General Meade's 
soldiers. 

Grant's Advance. — The grand advance of all the 
forces began early in May. In Virginia, Grant led his 
army across the Rapidan River into the thicket of the 
Wilderness. Here the battle between Hooker and Lee 
had taken place just a year before. Another desperate 
battle was now fought, in which neither army was 
victorious. Then General Grant marched towards 
Richmond and Lee followed him. Several severe 
battles took place, the last of them at Cold Harbor 
near Richmond. This was a terrible encounter. Lee's 
army was behind strong earthworks, which the Union 
soldiers could not enter on account of the terrible fire 
of the Confederates. Grant lost ten thousand men 
killed and wounded, and Lee not more than a thou- 
sand. But Grant moved south again, crossed the James 
River, and began a siege of Richmond and Petersburg. 
This siege lasted nine months. 

Sheridan's Ride. — In July, Lee sent General Early 
up the Shenandoah Valley to Maryland. What he 
wished to do was to weaken Grant's army. Early 
marched along the Potomac, and for a time Washington 
was in danger. But General Sheridan, a very able 
cavalry commander, was sent against him and defeated 
him in several battles. In one of these the striking 
event known as '^Sheridan's Ride" took place. Early 
made a night attack on Sheridan's army at Cedar 
Creek, and drove it back in great confusion. Sheridan 



THE FINAL YEARS OF THE WAR 



231 



was then at Winchester, twenty miles away. But he 
heard the distant roar of the battle, sprang to his 
horse, and rode at furious speed to the scene of conflict. 
Here he put himself at the head of his men, led them 
forward, and drove 
back the victorious 
Confederates in a com- 
plete rout. Defeat was 
turned into victory 
almost in a moment, 
and Sheridan became 
a famous general. 

Sherman's March to 
the Sea. — In the West, 
General Sherman did 
some remarkable work. 
He marched against 
the Confederate army, 
and battle after battle 
took place. At the end 
of every battle Sher- 
man moved farther into Georgia, until he had taken 
the important city of Atlanta, which w^as a great 
railroad centre. 

General Hood, who now commanded the Confederate 
army, marched north, thinking that Sherman would 
follow him. But instead of that Sherman sent some 
help to General Thomas, who had command in Ten- 
nessee, and then started on a march through Georgia, 
destroying the railroads as he went. This was Sher- 
man's famous '^ March to the Sea." He kept on until 
he reached the coast at Savannah, and took that city. 




Sheridan's Ride. 



232 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 

Hood's Defeat at Nashville. — Meanwhile General 
Hood had marched into Tennessee and brought his 
army in front of Nashville, where General Thomas 
was in command. For two weeks he besieged that 
town, and then Thomas made a sudden assault on him. 
In the battle that followed Hood's army was terribly 
defeated, and so broken to pieces that it never came 
together again. This victory ended the war in all that 
portion of the South. 

Naval Victories. — During the year 1864 there were 
some important naval victories. There were several 
Confederate cruisers, built in England, which had 
done much harm to American shipping. One of these, 
the Alabama, had taken sixty-five vessels. On June 
19 the Alabama was met by the frigate Kearsarge, 
near the coast of France. A battle was fought, and at 
the end of two hours the Alabama was sunk. 

Another battle took place in Mobile Bay, which was 
defended by strong forts aud an iron-plated vessel, but 
Admiral Farragut sailed in with a fleet of wooden ships 
and several vessels like the Monitor. He sailed past 
the forts, standing in the rigging of his ship, spy-glass 
in hand, without seeming to care for the terrible danger 
which he ran. This bold action gave great fame to the 
brave admiral. 

Sherman's March North. — With the opening of the 
year 1865 it was clear to everybody that the end of the 
war was near at hand. The South was in a desperate 
condition. General Sherman had left Savannah and 
was marching north. He marched into South Carolina 
and took possession of Charleston, and then continued 
until he reached North Carolina. 



THE FINAL YEARS OF THE WAR 233 

Lee*s Retreat. — At the same time General Grant was 
pressing more and more strongly on Lee. Immense 
lines of earthworks had been built around Petersburg, 
but Grant's army kept moving southward until, on 
the 1st of April, it made an attack on the lower end of 
Lee's works, and won a victory at a place called Five 
Forks. General Lee then saw that he could hold on 
to Richmond no longer, and began a hasty march 
westward towards the mountains. 

The End of the War. — Grant followed him with the 
utmost speed, sending Sheridan with his cavalry in 
advance, and soon Lee found himself surrounded by a 
much stronger army than his own. He could fight no 
longer, and on the 9th of April he surrendered to 
General Grant at Appomattox Court-House, Virginia. 

This surrender brought the war to an end. As soon 
as news of it spread through the South all the forces in 
the field laid down their arms and the long and terrible 
civil war was over. 

Assassination of Lincoln. — Yet one dreadful event 
followed. On April 14, five days after General Lee's 
surrender, President Lincoln was murdered. He w^as 
shot by an actor, named John Wilkes Booth, in a 
theatre at Washington. This terrible deed filled the 
whole country with horror, and threw a deep shadovv 
on the joy that had been felt at the close of the w^ar. 
No more shocking event had ever taken place in 
America. It was as great a misfortune for the South 
as for the North, for it roused the passions of men and 
made it more difficult to bring the two sections of the 
country together in harmony. 



234 SLAVERY CONTEST AND THE CIVIL WAR 



PART VII.— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

1. What great question disturbed the nation before 1860? Who 
became President in 1849? What happened to him? Who became 
President in his place? What great questions arose and how were 
they settled? How did the Fugitive Slave Law operate? What 
is meant by the Underground Railroad? 

2. Who was elected President in 1852? What important law 
was made in 1854? What effect had it on the slavery question? 
What took place in Kansas? What new party was organized in 
1856? What policy did it support? 

3. Who was elected President in 1856? What was the state 
■of party opinion in the North? What was the effect in the Dred 
Scott decision? What was done by John Brown and how did it 
end? Which of the parties won in the Presidential election of 1860? 
Who was chosen for President? 

4. What is meant by seceding? Explain the State Rights 
"doctrine. What was done in South Carolina? What other States 
tf olio wed this example? What did these States call themselves? 
Whom did they elect as President and Vice-President? What 
was done in Charleston harbor? What effect did this have on the 
country? 

5. What other States seceded? How many did that make in all? 
Where and when was the first battle fought? What was the 
result? What was the principal work done in 1861? In what three 
regions did fighting take place in 1862? What forts were captured 
by General Grant? Where did a great battle take place? Describe 
the battle. What battle was fought on the last day of 1862? What 
was done by Admiral Farragut's fleet? What successes had the 
Union army gained in the West? What city had been made the 
capital of the Confederate States? Who was placed in command 
of the Union army? To what region did he lead it? What able 
general was placed in command of the Confederate army? Why 
was the Confederate general Jackson called "Stonewall" Jackson? 
Where did he win victories? Describe the seven days' fight. Where 
did a battle take place between Lee and Pope? Where did Lee 
th^n lead his army? What was the result of the battle of Antietam? 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 235 

WTiat was the result of the battle of Fredericksburg? What was 
being done on the coast? What did the blockade runners do? 
How was the Merrimac strengthened? What did it do to the wooden 
fleet in Norfolk harbor? When did the Monitor reach Norfolk 
harbor? Describe the fight with the Merrimac. What did this 
battle of iron-clad ships prove? With what important event did 
1862 end? What was the first object of the war? Why did the 
President wash to free the slaves? On what day were they declared 
free? What was 'the proclamation called? What was its effect? 

6. WTiat great battle was fought in Virginia in 1863? In what 
way did Stonewall Jackson surprise Hooker's army? What was 
the result of the battle? What did General Lee do in June? Where 
did the armies meet? On what three days was the battle of Gettys- 
burg fought? ^Vhat was the result of the battle? What was 
General Grant doing in the West? How did he enclose the Con- 
federate army in Vicksburg? On what day did Vicksburg surrender? 
What was the effect of the \'ictories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg 
on the Southern cause? Where did the rest of the fighting in the 
West take place in 1863? Who was made commander of all the 
Western armies? What great battles were fought at Chattanooga? 
What position was given to General Grant in 1864? What plans 
did he form? Who was left in command of the Western army? 
When did the general advance of the armies begin? Where did 
Grant lead the Army of Virginia? What battle took place? What 
was the result of the battle at Cold Harbor? How long did the 
siege of Petersburg last? What events took place in the Shenandoah 
Valley? Describe "Sheridan's Ride." What did General Sherman 
do in the West? Where did he march after taking Atlanta? What 
did General Hood do? What happened to Hood's army? What 
important naval battles took place in 1864? What did Sherman 
do in 1865? On what day did General Grant break through General 
Lee's lines? Where and when did Lee's surrender take place? 
What effect did this have? What dreadful event happened soon 
after? 



PART VIII. 

THE NEW UNION. 



1. RESULTS OF THE WAR. 

The Evil of the War. — The great war was at an end. 
What had been its cost to the country and what good 
and evil had come of it? In the first place a vast 
multitude of men had been taken from their homes to 
live the life of soldiers and bear the perils and hard- 
ships of warfare. On the Union side more than two 
and a half millions of men had been in the army. At 
the end of the war there were still more than a million 
in the ranks. We do not know how many there were 
on the Confederate side. There were not nearly so 
many as on the Union side, probably not more than 
half the number. In the Union armies more than three 
hundred thousand men were killed, or died of wounds 
and disease, and the losses of the Confederate armies 
are supposed to have been as great. 

This was a frightful slaughter, and to it must be 
added all those who died after the war from wounds, 
or other effects of the dangerous life of a soldier. The 
money cost of the war was also very great. At the end 
of the war the United States had a debt of $2,750,000,- 
000. The States and the cities also had heavy debts. 
We do not know how much the Confederate States 
had spent, but they must have used a very large 
amount of money and materials. And this money loss 
was only part of the cost of the struggle. There was 

236 



RESULTS OF THE WAR 237 

not much damage done in the North, for nearly all 
the fighting had been in the Southern States. But in 
the vSouth there was ruin everywhere. Railroads had 
been destroyed, towns burned, and much other dam- 
age done. It would take years to make up the losses 
of the war. Everybody in the South had become poor 
and they had lost all their slaves, who were valued at a 
great sum of money. But in the North scarcely any 
harm had been done to city or country, business of 
every kind had been good, and many had grown rich 
during the war. The South was in a dreadful condi- 
tion, but the North showed hardly any signs of injury 
from the great conflict. 

The Good of the War. — Great courage and skill had 
been shown on both sides. It was made clear that the 
Americans north and south are a brave people. This 
both sides had learned and they knew and respected 
each other more than ever before. The war, as we have 
said, was not fought to abolish slavery, but to preserve 
the Union. Its purpose w^as to keep the nation together, 
and in this it had succeeded. It will be long before any 
State again tries to secede. 

Slavery was abolished, but this had not been done 
until it became necessary as an act of war, to help the 
North to conquer in the great contest. Yet it was an 
act that could not be undone. The slaves had been 
set free, and free they must continue while America 
remains a nation. The South would not have them 
as slaves again if it could. The people there have 
found that they are better off without slavery. Thus 
the great question which so long divided the nation 
was set at rest forever. This was the greatest good 



238 THE NEW UNION 

that came of the war. The civilization of America 
stands to-day at a higher level than it did before the 
Civil War. 

Reconstruction. — Let us go on to see what followed 
the war. We have told how President Lincoln was 
assassinated. Nothing ever took place in this country 
that caused more grief and horror. The people of the 
North had come to look on Abraham Lincoln as a man 
as great and noble as George Washington, and it was 
a terrible shock to them that he should be killed at 
the end of his great work. Few things ever happened 
in the country that caused so much excitement and 
angry feeling, and the murder of Lincoln made the 
difficult questions that followed the war much harder 
to settle. It did harm to North and South alike. 

2. JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1865 to 1869. 

Johnson becomes President. — President Lincoln had 
been re-elected in 1864 for a second term, with Andrew 
Johnson, of Tennessee, for Vice-President. His death 
raised Johnson to the post of President, one for which 
he was not well fitted under the conditions of that 
time. The government had serious work before it. 
The war was over, but it had left everything in dis- 
order. Eleven States had declared themselves out of 
the Union. They were to be brought back again, and 
a new Union to be made. How was this to be done? 

Amendments to the Constitution. — The slaves were now 
free in all the States. An amendment to the Consti- 
tution had been adopted on April 8, 1864, setting 
free alJ slaves within the United States. This is known 



JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION 239 

as the Thirteenth Amendment. The seceded States: 
had to agree to it before they could come back. An- 
other amendment, the Fourteenth, was offered, and 
was adopted in July, 1868. This gave negroes all 
the rights of white people, except the right to vote.. 
The seceded States had to agree to this also. 

The President Impeached. — President Johnson ob- 
jected to these amendments, and to a number of other 
laws passed by Congress. He vetoed them all. This 
made much bitter feeling between him and Congress, 
and in the end he was impeached for doing some 
things which the Constitution did not give him the 
right to do. That is, he was accused of going beyond 
the powers of his office, and was tried before the 
Senate, which acted as a court. 

The trial caused great excitement in the country. 
The Senate heard all that was to be said on both 
sides, and decided that the President had not acted^ 
contrary to his oath of office, and therefore was not- 
guilty of the charges against him. This was the only- 
time an American President has been tried for break-^ 
ing the laws of the land. 

The Problem before Congress. — It was a very diffi- 
cult problem which lay before Congress. The Union of 
the States had been brought into the greatest danger,, 
and now that the seceded States were to be restored 
to their old position, it was not easy to decide on the- 
best way of doing this. The President wished to da 
it in the most direct manner possible, by simply- 
declaring them back in the Union, but this did not, 
please Congress, many of whose numbers thought that 
the leaders of the Confederacy should be severely- 



240 THE NEW UNION 

punished and that the States should not be permitted 
to come back except under new and strict conditions. 

It was this difference of opinion that made the 
trouble between Congress and the President. Mihtary 
governments were placed over all the States except 
Tennessee, which had been taken back in 1866, but 
six others were admitted in 1868, leaving four which 
would not accept the terms of settlement offered by 
Congress and therefore remained out of the Union. 

Carpet=Bag Governments. — Under the new laws the 
Confederate leaders were not allowed to vote or hold 
office, while the negroes who had so recently been 
freed from slavery were given the right of suffrage, 
and formed the majority of voters in several of the 
States. Adventurers from the North, who were called 
'^carpet-baggers," because it was said that all they 
owned could be put in a carpet-bag, went South and 
solicited the negro vote and many of them were elected 
to office. Many of the late slaves were sent to the 
legislatures. The result was very serious and much of 
the money of the States was wasted or stolen. On 
Christmas, 1868, President Johnson issued a procla- 
mation of full pardon for all those who had fought 
against the government. But this did not restore their 
political rights, which could be done only by Congress. 

The Atlantic Telegraph. — Some other things of 
importance took place at this time. One of these was 
the laying of a new ocean telegraph. This was done in 
1866, two cables being laid under the Atlantic, both of 
which worked admirably. So little power was needed 
that a battery made in a gun cap has sent a telegraph 
message from America to England. 



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JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION 



241 



Alaska. — In 1867 another addition was made to the 
territory of the United States. The region known as 
Alaska was bought from Russia. It is a large country, 
but most of it is of little use, on account of the cold- 
ness of the climate. Yet many furs come from there, 
and on some islands near the coast the valuable fur 




Travel Across the Plains. 

seals are found in great numbers. The fisheries and 
forests are also of great value. Rich deposits of gold 
have been found there, and mines opened, and in many 
respects Alaska is an important addition to the coun- 
try. The gold mines have taken so many people to 
Alaska that it now has a considerable population and 
is found to be valuable in many ways not thought of 
formerly. 



16 



242 THE NEW UNIOM 



3. GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 
From 1869 to 1877. 

General Grant made President. — In 1868 Ulvsses 
S. Grant, the great Northern leader in the Civil War, 
was elected President, and the severe struggle between 
President and Congress came to an end. He took his 
seat on the 4th of March, 1869, and remained Presi- 
dent for eight years. During that time several impor- 
tant events happened. 

The Suffrage Amendment. — In 1870 another amend- 
ment to the Constitution was adopted. It is known 
as the Fifteenth Amendment. It gave to negroes, 
both those who had lately been slaves and those who 
had always been free, the right to vote. Under this 
law every American of the proper age, except women 
and Indians not taxed, can vote. One by one the 
seceded States agreed to these amendments, and were 
taken back into the Union. Georgia, Virginia, Missis- 
sippi, and Texas were the last. These came back in 1870. 

The Chicago Fire. — Another serious event was the 
Chicago fire, the greatest conflagration that has ever 
been known in America. It is doubtful if any fire in 
any other city of the world ever destroyed so much 
property. It began on October 8, 1871, and burned for 
three days. The part of the city burned was four and 
a half miles long and a mile wide. One hundred thou- 
sand people were left without homes, and two hundred 
were killed. The money loss was about two hundred 
million dollars. In the same year great forest fires broke 
out in the neighboring .States. In Wisconsin many vil- 
lages were burned and fifteen hundred people perished. 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION 243 

In November of the next year a terrible fire broke 
out in Boston, which destroyed property valued at 
seventy-five million dollars. Yet so great was the 
activity of the people that in a few years both those 
cities were built up again, and very little trace of the 
fires remained. 

The Alabama Claims. — The greatest political occur- 
rence while Grant was President was the settlement of 
the ''Alabama claims." We must explain what this 
means. In the last chapter we told how the Confederate 
privateer, the Alabama, had sailed from England, and 
captured and burned many American merchant vessels 
on the ocean. For this the United States blamed 
England. The Alabama was built in England, and it 
was said that the British government had no right to 
let it set sail, and that England ought to pay for all 
the damage that this vessel had done. 

The dispute might have brought on a war between 
America and England, but both nations agreed to let 
it be settled by a commission of men chosen by the 
two countries. This was done, and the commission 
found that England was in the wrong, and must pay 
damages to the United States. The amount was six- 
teen million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
This was the first great question between nations that 
was settled in this way. Such questions are generally 
decided by war, but it would be far better and cheaper 
to decide them all in a peaceful manner. 

The Business Panic. — In 1873 a great business panic 
began. It was brought on in the same way as that of 
1837 had been. There was wild speculation every- 
where, many families lived in great luxury, many more 



244 THE NEW UNION 

railroads were built than the country needed, and 
every man in business fancied that he was growing 
rich. Suddenly some great business houses proved 
unable to pay their debts, and this quickly brought 
others into the same trouble. The difficulty rapidly 
spread over the whole country. Banks failed, fac- 
tories stopped running, the building of railroads came 
to an end, money was not to be had, and thousands 
of people who had believed themselves in the way to 
grow rich found themselves poor. For the w^orking 
people there was very little to do. It was the worst 
business trouble the country had ever seen, for there 
were many more to feel it than in the past. Five or 
six years elapsed before all the effects of the panic 
passed away and business became as good as it had 
been before 1873. 

The Centennial Exhibition. — There was one more 
interesting event while Grant was President. In 1876 
it would be just one hundred years from the date in 
which America had declared herself free, and the peo- 
ple determined to celebrate this event in a grand way. 
So it was decided to hold a great exhibition in Phila- 
delphia, where the Declaration of Independence had 
been signed. Large buildings were prepared for a 
World's Fair, and goods were sent from every part of 
the country and from every foreign nation. Millions 
of people visited it, some of them coming from distant 
parts of the earth. Nothing of the kind had ever been 
seen in America, and it was a great lesson to the people 
of this country. They learned there in what things 
America was superior to Europe and in what Europe 
was superior to America. Every one saw that in 



THE HAYES ADMINISTRATION 



245 



machinery no other country could surpass the United 
States, but that in art Europe was far in advance. 
But this is not so much the case to-day. Great progress 




Memorial Hall, Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia 

has been made in American art since that time; her 
people have been wise enough to profit by the lesson 
of the Centennial Exhibition. 

4. THE HAYES ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1877 to 1881. 

The Election of 1876,— In November, 1876, there 
was an election for President that caused much feel- 
ing. The Republican candidate was Rutherford B. 
Hayes, the Democratic, Samuel J. Tilden. The elec- 
tion was so close that there was a dispute as to w^ho 
had been elected. Congress was not able to settle this, 
so a commission of fifteen men was chosen from the 
members of Congress and the judges of the Supreme 
Court. This commission decided that Hayes was 



246 THE NEW UNION 

elected President, and he took his seat on the 4th of 
March, 1877. But the Democrats said the decision was 
an unjust one, and there was much bitter feeling. 

Gold Payments Resumed. — Several things of impor- 
tance took place during Hayes's term of office. While 
the war was going on gold had become of more value 
than paper money. From the beginning of 1862 it 
had not been used as money, and all the business of 
the country was done with bank-notes. This continued 
until 1879. On the 1st of January of that year the 
government began to pay out gold to its creditors, 
and since then paper money has been worth as 
much as gold. 

The Great Railroad Strike. — In 1877 a great strike 
began on account of the lowering of wages of railroad 
men and for two weeks nearly all movement of rail- 
road trains ceased. Rioting follow^ed and in the fights 
with the soldiers many men were killed. In Pitts- 
burg railroad buildings and trains of cars were burned, 
the loss being more than three millions of dollars. 
The coal miners of Pennsylvania also joined the strike, 
and very many thousands of men stopped work. 

Yellow Fever in the South. — In 1878 yellow fever 
broke out in many of the cities of the South, and raged 
so fiercely that thousands of the people died. Busi- 
ness could not be carried on, so there was much suffer- 
ing from this cause also. The fever appeared again the 
next year. The people of the North did much to help 
the sufferers in the South during this terrible period. 
Money, food, and other necessaries were given in large 
amounts, doctors and nurses went South at the peril 
of their lives, and the warm feeling of sympathy that 



GARFIELD AND ARTHUR ADMINISTRATION 247 

was shown did much to hasten the growing good 
feeling between the two sections of the country. 

The Mississippi Jetties. — The Mississippi River had 
long been growing shallow near its mouth from the 
great quantity of mud brought down the stream and 
deposited there. It was getting so that no large 
vessels could reach New Orleans. To overcome this 
Captain James Eads built jetties, or walls of wicker- 
work filled with earth, along the stream, so as to make 
it narrower. This was a great success. The narrow 
stream swept away the mud from its bottom and 
became so deep that the largest vessels could make 
their way up its channel. 

5. THE GARFIELD AND ARTHUR ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1881 to 1885. 

Garfield*s Election. — When the time came for the 
next Presidential election (1880) the Republicans 
nominated General James A. Garfield, the Democrats, 
General W. S. Hancock. Garfield was elected. The 
new President soon showed that he was going to do 
what he thought was for the good of the country. 
When men asked for offices he did not trouble himself 
to know what they had done for the party, but was 
careful to find out if they knew anything about the 
work of the office, and could be trusted to do their duty 

The Assassination of Garfield. — This gave great 
offence to some persons who wanted offices, but were 
not fit to do the work required. One of these men, 
named Charles J. Guiteau, became so angry that he 
resolved to kill the President. On the 2d of July, 1881, 
four months after Garfield was inaugurated, this man 



248 THE NEW UNION 

came up behind him in the raih'oad depot at Washing- 
ton, drew a pistol, and shot him in the back. 

The President fell, severely wounded. The news 
spread rapidly over the country, and caused as much 
horror and excitement as had been occasioned by the 
death of Lincoln. Garfield did not die at once. He 
lay sick for more than three months. During this 
interval every one felt the greatest sympathy for him, 
and when he died, on the 19th of September, it was as 
if every family in the land had lost one of its dearest 
members. The wounded President had been so brave 
and patient in his suffering that the people of all parties 
had grown to love him. The whole people of the coun- 
try seemed w^atching by his bedside, for the telegraph 
brought them news almost as quickly as if they had been 
there, and nothing has ever shown more clearly the won- 
derful character of the telegraphic service than the way 
in which the story of the dying President was laid every 
morning before the anxious and sympathetic nation. 

Arthur takes Office. — The death of Garfield left the 
Vice-President, Chester A. Arthur, to succeed him. 
As Garfield had been so short a time in office, Arthur 
was President nearly three and a half years. During 
this time there were no great political occurrences, 
but some things of interest took place. 

The Washington Monument. — One of the events of 
this time was the completion of the great monument 
to Washington, which had been building at Washington 
city since 1848 and was not finished until 1885. It is 
a great shaft of white marble five hundred and fifty- 
five feet high, which rises above the city and can be 
seen for long distances away. 



CLEVELAND'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION 249 

Standard Time. — Another thing of importance was 
the adoption of standard time for the convenience of 
the great railroads running east and west. This took 
place in 1883, the country being divided into four 
sections, within each of which a fixed time was to be 
used, while the time would vary one hour in going from 
one section to another. Thus w^hen it is tw^elve o'clock 
at New York, it is eleven at Chicago, ten at Denver, 
and nine at San Francisco. The same is the case all 
through these sections. Travellers going east or west 
need to change their watches one hour on going from 
one section to another, and thus they can always have 
the correct time. 

Industrial Exhibitions. — While Arthur was President 
several exhibitions of industry took place in the South. 
One was held at Atlanta and another at Louisville. 
But the most important was one held at New Orleans 
in 1884, called ^^The AVorld's Cotton Centennial 
Exposition. " It showed the great progress the South 
had made since the war, and the immense develop- 
ment of the cotton industry since 1784. In that year 
eight bags — equal to about one bale of cotton — was 
exported. In 1884 eight million bales were exported. 
This was certainly a grand advance. 

6. CLEVELAND'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1885 to 1889. 

Election of Cleveland. — On March 4, 1885, Grover 
Cleveland took his seat as President to succeed Presi- 
dent Arthur. He was elected as the candidate of the 
Democratic party, and was the first Democratic Presi- 
dent since 1856. 



250 THE NEW UNION 

The Charleston Earthquake. — In 1886 there occurred 
an event that was in some respects more terrible than 
the Chicago fire. A great earthquake took place. 
The centre of its force was in South Carolina, and the 
<3ity of Charleston was so shaken that a great part of 
it fell in ruins to the ground. A single minute turned a 
happy and prosperous city into a distressed and ruined 
one. The people ran in terror from their falling houses, 
but many were killed in the houses and in the streets. 
The earth cracked open here and there, and mud and 
stones were thrown into the air. The people of Charles- 
ton lost ten milhon dollars by this earthquake shock, 
besides all the suffering they endured. 

The Chicago Anarchists. — For a number of years 
there had been much trouble in this country between 
working people and their employers. The working 
people had joined into strong societies, and there were 
many great strikes for wages. In Chicago, on May 1, 
1886, there was a strike in favor of making eight hours 
the time of a day's work. This led to an awful scene of 
murder. There was a large party of foreigners in 
Chicago who wanted to do away with all law and order, 
and declared that no man had a right to be richer than 
other men, but that all ought to be ahke in this respect. 

During the eight-hour strike there was held a meet- 
ing of these anarchists, as they were called, which the 
police tried to break up, but while they were attempt- 
ing to do so some one in the crowd threw among them 
a bomb charged with dynamite. Dynamite is an 
explosive substance which is much more violent in its 
action than gun-powder. The bomb burst in their midst 
and did terrible damage. Six of the policemen were 



BENJAMIN HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION 251 

killed and sixty-one wounded. The police drew their 
pistols and fired on the mob, and many of the anar- 
chists, in their turn, were killed and wounded. Seven 
were arrested and found guilty of murder. Of these 
one killed himself, four were hanged, and the others 
sent to prison for life. 

The Chinese Exclusion Law. — For years many Chinese 
workmen had been makmg their way into this country, 
until there were many more than one hundred thou- 
sand of them here. This roused much opposition 
among the working people, who said that the Chinese 
did not intend to stay in the country and become 
citizens, and that they worked for such low wages as to 
cut down the wages of Americans. As a result a law 
was passed preventing any more Chinese from coming 
into the country. This law still holds good. 

7. BENJAMIN HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1889 to 1893. 

The Election of 1888. — In the Presidential election of 
1888 Benjamin Harrison was nominated by the 
Republican and Grover Cleveland by the Democratic 
party. Harrison was elected and the Republicans 
came into power again. The new President was the 
grandson of General William Henry Harrison, who had 
been elected President in 1840. 

The Johnstown Disaster. — A great disaster took 
place in the first year of Harrison's term of office. On 
May 31, 1889, during a severe rain-storm, a dam gave 
way on a branch of the Conemaugh River, in Western 
Pennsylvania. The whole valley of the river was swept 
by a destructive flood, and the city of Johnstown and 



252 



THE NEW UNION 



several smaller places were carried away on the raging 
waters. Five or six thousand people were drowned and 
many millions of dollars' worth of property destroyed. 
No accident so dreadful in loss of life had ever happened 
in America before. Much food and clothing and great 
sums of money were given by charitable people to aid 




The Johnstown Disaster. 

the sufferers, but the terrible loss of life no money 
could repay, and the Johnstown flood will long be 
remembered in the history of destructive events. 

The Pan=American Congress. — In the latter part of 
1889 and the early part of 1890 a very important meet- 
ing was held in the city of Washington. Delegates 
from all the nations of North and South America came 
together, to see what could be done to aid commerce 
and harmony between these nations, and to do away 
with war. It was decided to try and settle all quarrels 
between them by peaceful means, to take measures 
for the improvement of trade, and to do other things 
for the benefit of the American people. 



BENJAMIN HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION 253 

The McKinley Tariff.— In 1890 a tariff bill was 
passed by Congress, which put a higher tax or duty on 
many articles brought from other countries. It was 
known as the McKinley tariff, because it w^as offered 
by Mr. McKinley, of Ohio. It was hoped that it would 
be a great help to manufactures in America, by keep- 
ing out foreign goods from this country, but there is a 
wide difference of opinion about this, for many say 
that the American people would be better off with 
a low tariff. This is to-day the great question in 
American politics. 

New States. — In 1889 four new States were added 
to the Union. The large Territory of Dakota was 
divided into tw^o States, named North Dakota and 
South Dakota, and the Territories of Washington and 
Montana were made States. In 1890 two other States 
were added, Idaho and Wyoming. 

The Census of 1890. — Another important event of 
1890 was the United States Census. The count of the 
population showed that there were in this country 
sixty-two millions six hundred and twenty-two thou- 
sand two hundred and fifty people, an increase of more 
than twelve millions since 1880 and of about fifty-nine 
millions since the first census in 1790, a century before. 

Copyright Bill. — In 1891 Congress passed an impor- 
tant bill, known as the Copyright Bill. Ever since the 
country was established the writers of books had had 
no protection in foreign lands. Any Englishman could 
pubhsh and sell an American book, and any American 
could do the same with an English book, and pay the 
author nothing. The Copyright Bill put an end to 
this and gave protection to authors. 



254 



THE NEW UNION 



The Pension List. — Among the changes made in this 
period was a great increase in the pension list, both in 
the number of persons receiving pensions, and the 
amount paid them. The annual sum paid for pensions 
for many years was about one hundred and forty 
million dollars, much the greatest sum ever paid for 
this purpose. Changes were also made in the immi- 
gration laws, so as to keep out of this country all 
persons not likely to make good and useful citizens. 




Alaskan Seal Fisheries. 
I 

Alaskan Seal Fisheries. — For a number of years there 
had been a dispute between the United States and 
England, on account of Canadian fishing-vessels 
killing the fur seals which make their homes on the 
islands of Bering Sea, in Alaska, and which the United 
States claim as their own property. After many 
vessels had been seized, and there had been much 
bitter feeling, the question was given over to arbi- 
trators to settle, both nations agreeing to accept the 
decision of the court of arbitration, whose members 
were chosen from several nations. The arbitrators 
df^cided that the United States did not own the seals 



THE SECOND CLEVELAND ADMINISTRATION 255 

when found far from the islands, though they laid 
down a set of rules for the protection of these animals. 
But it is found that these rules do not work very well^ 
and if something else is not done to save the seals they 
will soon be all killed. 

8. THE SECOND CLEVELAND ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1893 to 1897. 

The Presidential Election of 1892.— In 1892 the 
Republicans nominated for the next term of office 
Benjamin Harrison, who was then President. The 
Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland, who had been 
President from 1885 to 1889. Cleveland was elected 
for a second term of office, and the Democratic party 
gained a majority in both houses of Congress, for the 
first time in many years. 

The World's Columbian Exposition. — One of the 
most important events of this period was a great 
World's Fair, held in Chicago in 1893 in honor of the 
discovery of America by Columbus four hundred years, 
before. The buildings were dedicated in October, 1892,. 
the anniversary of the discovery. But the Fair was 
not opened until the spring of 1893. It was one of 
great splendor and magnificent proportions, there being 
more than one hundred and fifty buildings, of which 
the largest covered more than thirty acres. The 
exhibits were very attractive and numerous and the 
Fair a great success. It surpassed in beauty and 
extent any held before that time. 

A Great Business Depression. — The second adminis- 
tration of President Cleveland was marked by a great 
falling off in the business of the country, which began 



256 THE NEW UNION 

in 1893 and continued for more than four years. A 
vast number of people were thrown out of employ- 
ment and the business losses were very great. The 
distress of the people was extreme, equalling that of 
the panics of 1837 and 1873. After it passed away 
a period of great business activity prevailed. 

Utah made a State. — Utah had been settled by the 
Mormons, a people whose religious belief permitted 
them to have more than one wife. This was against 
the laws of the country, and Congress passed an act 
to prevent it in 1882. In 1890 the Mormons consented 
to give up polygamy, as the custom was called. There 
were many people in Utah who were not Mormons, 
and who wished it to be made a State. As the laws 
had been obeyed, this was now granted, an Act being 
passed for this purpose in 1893. On January 4, 1896, 
President Cleveland proclaimed the admission of Utah 
as the forty-fifth State of the Union. 

Civil Service Reform. — The civil service reform, 
which for ten years had been the policy of the govern- 
ment, was greatly advanced by President Cleveland 
-during his second term, very many office-holders being 
brought under its rules. This has been continued until 
now the old system of the choosing of office-holders by 
politicians has nearly ceased, the great majority of 
these being chosen by examinations into their fitness 
for the various positions. It is also known as the 
merit system, under the principle that only those who 
merit the positions receive them, without regard to 
their political opinions. They are kept in office as 
long as they do their duty, no matter who is elected 
President. 



McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATION 257 



9. McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATION. 
From 1897 lo 1901. 

The Election of 1896.— In 1896 the Republicans 
nominated William McKinley, of Ohio, for the Presi- 
dency. The Democrats and the Populists (a new 
party) nominated William J. Bryan, of Nebraska. 
The Popuhst and Democratic parties advocated the 
*'free and unHmited coinage of silver and gold at the 
legal ratio of 16 to 1;" the Republicans opposed the 
unlimited coinage of silver. McKinley was the choice 
of the majority, and became President March 4, 1897. 

The Cuban Rebellion. — During President McKinley's 
term of office war broke out and this was its cause. 
The island of Cuba, lying south of Florida, had long 
been a colony of Spain, but its people were so badly 
treated that in 1895 they broke out in rebellion, as 
the Americans had done in 1775. A large army was 
sent from Spain, but it was not able to put down the 
rebellion, and fighting went on for three years. 

The Sinking of the Maine. — In January, 1898, the 
American battle-ship Maine was sent to the harbor of 
Havana, the capital of Cuba. Here a dreadful event 
took place. On the night of February 15 the ship was 
blown up with dynamite, and nearly all on board were 
killed. No less than two hundred and sixty-six persons 
lost their lives, and the ship sank to the bottom of the 
harbor. This terrible affair greatly excited the people 
of the United States, many of whom were eager to go 
to war with Spain. On April 21, Congress demanded 
that Spain should take her soldiers and ships from 
Cuba. This Spain would not do, and war was declared. 

17 



258 THE NEW UNION 

Naval Events. — The war began with a blockade of 
the Cuban coast by American war-ships. A fleet was 
also sent to the bay of Manila, the capital of the 
Philippine Islands, a colony of Spain in the Pacific 
Ocean. The Spanish fleet here w^as attacked on May 1, 
and all its ships were burned or sunk. The American 
ships were not injured, and only a few of the sailors 
were wounded. Commodore Dewey, who gained this 
great victory, was made a rear-admiral, and received 
the thanks of Congress. He was afterwards given the 
high rank of Admiral and raised to the head of the navy. 

The Battle of Santiago. — Another Spanish fleet 
crossed the Atlantic Ocean and entered the harbor of 
Santiago de Cuba, where it was blocked up by a strong 
squadron of American ships. An army was sent to 
Santiago, and a battle took place there on the 1st and 
2d of July. Both armies fought bravely, and many 
were killed and wounded on each side; but the Ameri- 
cans gained the victory and the Spanish army was 
driven back into the city. 

The Sinking of the Ships. — On the 3d of July the 
Spanish fleet, under Admiral Cervera, tried to escape 
from the harbor. The ships came out at full speed and 
fled along the coast, followed by the American ships. 
Both sides fired furiously, but the Spanish guns were 
poorly aimed, while nearly every American shot 
reached its mark. All the Spanish ships were sunk 
and many of their sailors killed; but the American 
ships were little injured, and only one man was killed. 

Surrender of the Army. — This victory was soon fol- 
lowed by a surrender of the Spanish army at Santiago, 
the United States government agreeing to transport 



McKlNLEY'S ADMINISTRATION 



259 



all the soldiers back to Spain. The island of Porto 
Rico was also invaded and surrendered^ and the city 
of Manila, the capital of the Philippine Islands, was 
captured by the army and fleet. 

Hawaii Annexed. — During the war with Spain the 
Hawaiian Islands, which lie in the Pacific Ocean 
between America and Asia, were annexed to the 
United States and in 1900 were made a Territory of 




The Sinking of the Spanish Ships. 

this country, under the name of Hawaii. They are 
a group of fertile islands, on which are the most 
wonderful volcanoes of the earth. 

Results of the War. — A treaty of peace with Spain 
was signed December 12, 1898, in which Spain gave 
up its claims on Cuba and yielded to the United States 
the Philippine Islands and the islands of Guam in the 
Pacific and Porto Rico in the West Indies. But the 
people of the Philippines were not satisfied with this and 
went to war against the United States and it was two 
years before they were subdued. Since then they have 
been prosperous and well satisfied, being given much 
more liberty than they had under the rule of Spain. 



260 THE NEW UNION 

McKinley and Roosevelt.— In 1900 President Mc- 
Kinley was again elected, having a large majority over 
William J. Bryan, who was once more the Democratic 
candidate. The Vice-President was Theodore Roose- 
velt, who had fought bravely in the war with Spain 
and was then Governor of New York. In the same 
year a census of the people was taken and the popu- 
lation of the United States found to be 76,303,387 
— much more than that of any nation in Europe 
except Russia. 

Murder of the President. — Like Lincoln and Gar- 
field, President McKinley was killed by an assassin. 
He went to Buffalo, New York, in September, 1901, 
to witness a great exhibition of the products of the 
American nations, and on the 6th, while giving a 
reception to the people, was shot by one of those 
who came to shake hands with him. The murderer 
belonged to the society called Anarchists, who seek 
to kill all kings and rulers. The President died on 
September 14, all the people of the country being filled 
with grief at his death. Vice-President Roosevelt 
succeeded him as President. 

10. ROOSEVELT'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1901 to 1909. 

The Republic of Cuba. — After the close of the 
Spanish War the United States took charge of the 
Island of Cuba until 1902, when that country adopted 
a constitution, elected a President, and began its career 
as an American republic. The United States troops 
were withdrawn on the 20th of May, and Cuba was left 
to govern itself. 



ROOSEVELT'S ADMINISTRATION 261 

A New Department. — A new department was added 
to the government in February, 1903, under the name 
of the Department of Commerce and Labor, its pur- 
pose being to take charge of the interests of American 
commerce and industry. The Departments now con- 
sist of those of State, AVar, and the Treasury, formed 
in 1789; the Post-Office, in 1794; the Navy, in 1798; 
Justice, in 1820; the Interior, in 1849; Agriculture, in 
1889, and Commerce and Labor, in 1903. The heads 
of these Departments form the members of the Presi- 
dent's Cabinet. 

The Panama Canal. — For manv vears a French com- 
pany had been trying to excavate a ship-canal from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific, across the Isthmus of 
Panama. In 1902 the United States bought the 
partly-dug canal from the company for $40,000,000 
and undertook to finish the canal. It purchased the 
right of way from the republic of Panama and a large 
force of men is now at work on the canal, which is 
being very rapidly excavated, its completion being 
promised by 1915. 

The Election of 1904.— In 1904 President Roosevelt 
was nominated by the Republicans and was elected 
President of the United States by a very large majority 
over Alton B. Parker, the Democratic candidate. 
Charles W. Fairbanks was elected Vice-President. 

Expositions of Industry. — A World's Fair was held at 
St. Louis in 1904 in honor of the purchase from France 
in 1803 of the great region originally known as Louisiana. 
The display was a splendid one, the grounds were 
beautifully decorated, and the buildings filled with 
objects of interest. In the following year the Lewis 



262 THE NEW UNION 

and Clark expedition (see page 199) was celebrated 
by an attractive Exposition at Portland, Oregon, and 
in 1907 the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, 
was commemorated by an Exposition near Norfolk, 
at which a splendid display was made of the warships 
of the United States and other countries. 

The State of Oklahoma. — In 1889 the western half of 
Indian Territory, known as Oklahoma, which the 
Indians had not occupied, was opened to white settlers 
and soon had a large population. This grew so rapidly 
during the following years that the people asked to have 
it changed from a Territory into a State. In 1906 
Congress passed a bill for this purpose, under which 
the Indian and Oklahoma Territories were to be com- 
bined into a State to be known as Oklahoma. This was 
completed in 1907, when the constitution of the new 
State was accepted by the President. 

The San Francisco Disaster. — In 1906 took place the 
most serious disaster ever known in this country. 
An earthquake of great severity shook the coast 
region of California on April 18, causing wide-spread 
damage, especially in the large and flourishing city of 
San Francisco. Many of its finest buildings were ruin- 
ed, hundreds of people killed, and a dreadful fire 
destroyed a great part of the city, inflicting a loss of 
more than $300,000,000. So great was the suffering 
that the charitable people of the country gave millions 
of dollars to buy food and provide shelter for the 
homeless citizens. With wonderful courage they soon 
set to work to rebuild their ruined city. 

Irrigation of the Arid West. — One of the most impor- 
tant Acts of. Congress during Roosevelt's first term 



ROOSEVELT'S ADMINISTRATION 263 

was designed for the making of great reservoirs in the 
mountains of the West, for the purpose of carrying 
the waters of the mountain streams by canals to the 
rainless regions of that section. On these mountains 
much snow falls in winter, and when this melts the 
streams are full, while many of them are nearly dry 
during much of the year. Great dams are now being 
built to hold this water in reservoirs so that it may 
be given out slowly during the farming season and 
spread over the fertile plains below. In this way 
millions of acres are now being watered and vast 
quantities of produce being raised on land that for- 
merly was of no use. 

Natural Resources. — The government is engaged in 
other useful work besides that of saving the waters 
for the dry fields. The woodlands of the United States 
have been greatly wasted by fire and reckless cutting, 
and earnest efforts are being made to prevent this. 
Many acres of the forest land have been set aside as 
government reservations, and lands on which the 
timber has been destroyed are being replanted. 
There are other natural resources of the country which 
the government is seeking to preserve, an important 
one being the fisheries, which were fast becoming 
exhausted. Millions of young fish are now raised and 
planted in the streams and the fish harvest is again 
growing large and valuable. 

The Roosevelt Policy. — -President Roosevelt proved 
himself an earnest reformer and a man of great activity 
and energy in various ways. He succeeded in having 
bills passed preventing the paying back of rebates on 
freight charges by the railroad companies and for- 



264 THE NEW UNION 

bidding the sale of adulterated foods and medicines. 
He also had law suits brought against some of the 
great business corporations which were believed to 
have broken the laws and injured other business men. 
The Portsmouth Peace Conference. — In 1905 Roose- 
velt did much towards bringing to an end the terrible 
war between Russia and Japan. He induced them to 
hold a Peace Conference, which met at Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, and decided on terms of peace 
between those nations. This gave the President great 
credit abroad and the Nobel peace prize was awarded 
to him in 1906. This is given every year to the man 
who has done most towards aiding the cause of peace. 

11. TAFT'S ADMINISTRATION 

From 1909 to 1913. 

The Election of 1908. — President Roosevelt had 
made himself so popular that many wished him to 
run again for the Presidency in 1908. But he declined 
to do so, and William H. Taft, of Ohio, who had been 
Secretary of War in the Roosevelt Cabinet, was nomi- 
nated by the Republican Convention, with James S. 
Sherman, of New York, for Vice-President. William 
J. Bryan was a third time nominated by the Democratic 
Convention and was again defeated, the Republicans 
being successful in the election. 

Tariff Revision. — The platform of the Republican 
party promised to revise the tariff for the best interest 
of the people, and a committee was appointed to con- 
sider the subject, while the President called an extra 
session of Congress in the spring of 1909 for the pur- 
pose of passing a new and more satisfactory tariff bill. 



TAFT'S ADMINISTRATION 265 

Some change seemed needed, for a serious decline in 
business had taken place in the fall of 1907, which many 
believed to be due in part to the high duties on imported 
goods. A new tariff bill was passed in July, 1909. 
While many of the rates on goods were lowered, it did 
not give satisfaction, the feeling of the people being 
shown in the election of 1910, in which so many Demo- 
crats were chosen as to give them a majority in the 
House of Representatives. 

Other Events. — Shortly after the inauguration of 
President Taft a great honor came to the United 
States through the discovery of the North Pole, on 
April 6, 1909, and the planting of the American flag 
on its site, by the famous explorer, Commander Robert 
E. Peary, of the United States Navy. In 1911 Presi- 
dent Taft called an extra session of Congress by which 
a bill was passed to establish low tariff rates between 
the United States and Canada, and free trade in a num- 
ber of articles. Canada, however, voted against this 
measure, and it failed to be adopted. The census of 
the United States taken in 1910 showed a population 
of 91,972,267. 

Marvels of Engineering. — Great works of engineering 
were completed while Taft was President, one being a 
railroad tunnel passing under the Hudson and East 
Rivers and Manhattan Island, on which the city of 
New York is built. This was opened in 1909. Two 
wonderful tunnels were made in the West for irrigation 
purposes, the Gunnison of Colorado and the Straw- 
berry of Utah. The first of these was cut for six miles 
through the heart of a mountain and carried a river in 
a new channel to water an arid plain. 



266 THE NEW UNION 

New States Admitted. — When Oklahoma was admitted 
as a State in 1906 it was proposed also to combine the 
Territories of Arizona and New Mexico into a single 
State. The people of Arizona would not consent to 
this and no change was made until 1912, when these 
Territories were admitted as separate States. This 
raised the total number of States to forty-eight, and 
that number of stars are now placed on the national 
flag. 

Amendments to Constitution. — No amendments to the 
Constitution had been made since 1870, but two were 
added in 1913. One of these, the Sixteenth, gave 
Congress the power to tax the incomes of the people. 
The other, the Seventeenth, provided that United 
States Senators, previously chosen by the State legis- 
latures, should thereafter be elected directly by the 
people. Both of these were proclaimed as in force 
early in 1913. Also the Department of Commerce 
and Labor, adopted in 1903, was divided into two, 
a Department of Commerce and a Department of 
Labor. This made ten departments in all and increased 
the President's Cabinet to ten members. 

The Aeroplane Invented. — An important invention 
made by Americans within the period under review 
was that of the art of navigating the air without the 
aid of balloons. This was first accomplished in 1904 
by Wilbur and Orville Wright, two young inventors 
of Ohio. The aeroplane, as their machine was called, 
has since then been greatly improved and now long 
and high flights are made by it through the air. It is 
even proposed to cross the Atlantic Ocean by its aid, 
and this may soon be attempted. 



WILSON'S ADMINISTRATION 267 

12. WILSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

From 1913 to . 

The Election of 1912.— In 1912 President Taft was 
again nominated for President by the Republican 
party. Ex-President Roosevelt was also a candidate, 
a new party, the Progressive, being formed out of the 
Republican to support him. The Democratic party 
nominated Woodrow Wilson, at that time Governor of 
New Jersey. The Democrats won by a large majority 
over the divided Republican party, and Wilson was 
elected to the presidency. 

A New Tariff. — President Wilson was inaugurated 
March 4, 1913. The Democratic party had a majority 
in Congress and the new President took immediate 
steps to do away with the protective tariff of the 
Republicans and replace it by a new one based on the 
Democratic idea of tariff for revenue only. An extra 
session of Congress was called for this purpose and a 
tariff bill was passed in October which made large 
reductions in the charges on imported goods, many 
articles being admitted free of charge. 

A Currency Measure. — Another bill was passed which 
provided for a system of Federal Reserve Banks. These 
were intended to act as centers for the system of 
National Banks, and to bring them all under control of 
the government. In this way a large supply of money 
would be always ready when needed and thus help to 
prevent financial disturbances. 

Weather Disasters. — Soon after the inauguration of 
the President a series of storms came upon the country 
which caused much loss of life and property. They 
began with violent wind storms, which caused great 



268 THE NEW UNION 

damage in the city of Omaha and elsewhere. On 
March 25 violent rains began in Ohio and the adjoining 
States, filling the streams, carrying away dams, and 
flooding the streets of cities, in some cases to ten feet 
in depth. Great damage was done by these storms. 

Woman Suffrage. — For many years there had been an 
earnest demand among the women of the United States 
for the right to vote at all elections, and this had been 
granted in a number of the States. There were ten 
of these by 1913, including Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, 
Utah, Washington, California, Arizona, Kansas, Oregon 
and Illinois. Other States had considered the subject 
favorably and it seemed as if Woman Suffrage would 
become national in its scope. 

Commission Government. — In 1901 a new system of 
government was adopted in Galveston, Texas, in which 
five business men were elected to conduct all the public 
affairs of the city. This, known as Commission Govern- 
ment, proved so successful that it spread rapidly, until 
by 1913 it had been introduced in nearly 300 cities. 
Among these were such large cities as New Orleans and 
Denver. It was being considered in still larger cities. 

Initiative and Referendum. — Other political systems 
which are growing in favor are those known as the 
Initiative and Referendum. The Initiative gives the 
people the right to propose laws to be acted upon by 
the legislatures. The Referendum gives them the right 
to reject new laws of which they do not approve. A 
later system, known as the Recall, gives the people 
the right to dismiss ofiice-holders whose acts have failed 
to give satisfaction. In these ways the people are 
gaining direct control over their representatives. 



WILSON'S ADMINISTRATION 269 

Prosecuting the Trusts. — For a number of years past 
the government has been seeking to break up the 
great business combinations known as Trusts. Lawsuits 
have been brought against many of these and several 
of them have been found guilty of breaking the laws 
and injuring those in the same Hues of business. These 
have been ordered to break up into their original 
bodies. In 1913, one of these, the National Cash 
Register Company, was found guilty of criminal acts 
against competitors and the president and directors 
were sentenced to fines and terms of imprisonment. 

Trouble with Mexico. — Rebellions in Mexico had lasted 
for several years, obliging the United States Government 
to keep a large force of soldiers on duty on the border 
between the two countries and naval vessels at the 
Mexican ports. This was done to protect the lives 
and property of Americans in Mexico. In April, 1914, 
some sailors from a naval vessel were arrested in 
Tampico while under the protection of the United 
States flag. The Mexican president refused to redress 
this insult to the flag by a proper salute, and a 
powerful fleet of war-vessels was sent to Vera Cruz, 
that city being seized and held. This brought the two 
countries to the verge of war. 

The Panama Canal. — The ship-canal across the Isth- 
mus of Panama, begun by the United States in 1904, 
was completed in 1914. Only the digging out of some 
dirt which had slipped from the sides into the canal 
was needed to make it ready for the world's commerce, 
and vessels were expected to pass through the canal in 
May, 1914. It was the greatest enterprise of the kind 
that had ever been undertaken. 



270 THE NEW UNION 

PART VIIL— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

1 . How many soldiers were in the Union army during the war? 
How many were there at the end of the war? About how many 
Confederate soldiers were there? How many were lost on each 
Bide? What was the United States debt at the end of the war? 
Where was the most damage done? What was the condition of the 
South after the war? WTiat of the North? What good was accom- 
plished by the war? WTiat is now thought of slavery in the South? 
What did the people think of Abraham Lincoln? 

2. WIio succeeded Lincoln as President? W^hat was done by 
the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution? WTiat by the 
Fourteenth? How did President Johnson deal with the laws passed 
by Congress on the subject of reconstruction? What did Congress 
do in consequence? What is meant by impeachment of a President? 
Before what court was President Johnson tried? Wliat was the 
result of the trial? WTiat problem lay before Congress? WTiat 
kinds of government were established in the South? Of what 
advantage has Alaska been to the United States. 

3. Who was made President in 1868? What was the Fifteenth 
Amendment to the Constitution? How did the seceded States act 
towards these amendments? When did the last of them come back 
into the Union? WTiat great fire took place in 1871? WTiat was the 
money loss? WTiere did great forest fires take place in the same 
year? In what other city did a great fire break out the next year? 
What is meant by the "Alabama claims?" Why did America 
blame England? How was the dispute settled? What sum was 
England required to pay? How have disputes between nations 
usually been settled? What was the cause of the business panic of 
1873? WTiat effect did it have upon the country? How long did 
it take for business to recover from the panic? Where was a great 
exhibition held in 1876? WTiat did this exhibition teach our people? 
In what has great progress taken place since that time? 

4. WTio were the candidates in the Presidential election of 1876? 
Ho IV was the dispute about the election settled? WTio became 
President? WTien did gold come into use again as money? In 
what year was yellow fever an epidemic in the South? How did 
the North act? WTiat effect had this on the feeling of the two 
sections? WTiat great strike took place and with what resultf 
How was the channel of the Mississippi River deepened? 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 271 

5. Who was elected President in 1880? What did he do about 
appointing men to office? What happened to the President? 
What was the feehng of the people? Who became President after 
Garfield's death? What is the Washington Monument? What 
is meant by standard time? Where were exhibitions held? 

6. Who became President in 1885? By what party was he 
elected? Of what party were all the Presidents between 1861 and 
1885? What terrible event happened in the South in 1886? What 
have the working people done of recent years? When did the 
eight-hour strike take place in Chicago? What was done by the 
anarchists? What is meant by Chinese exclusion? 

7. Who was made President in 1888? Describe the disaster 
at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. What was the purpose of the Pan- 
American Congress? What was the McKinley tariff? What new 
States were admitted in 1889 and 1890? What was the population 
of the United States in 1890? What is meant by the Copyright 
law? What changes were made in the pension list? What in the 
immigration laws? What trouble arose about the seal fisheries? 

8. Who were nominated for the Presidency in 1892? Who 
was elected President? Describe the Columbian World's Fair? 
When did another business depression take place? What new 
State was admitted in 1896? What progress was made in Civil 
Service Reform? 

9. Who became President in 1896? What dreadful event took 
place? Describe the events of the war with Spain. What resulted 
from the war? What territory in the Pacific was annexed? Describe 
the murder of President McKinley. 

10. What West India island became a free republic? What are 
the Departments of the government and who constitute the Presi- 
dent's Cabinet? What is said of the Panama canal? Who was 
elected President in 1904? Where was a great World's Fair held? 
What new State was admitted in 1907? What is said about irri- 
gation and natural resources ? 

11. Who were elected President in 1908 and 1912 ? What 
new States were admitted? How was the Constitution amended? 
What new political systems were adopted ? What discovery 
was made in 1909, and what great work of engineering com- 
pleted in 1914? 



PART IX. 

RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. 

The Disbanding of the Armies. — When the Civil War 
ended there were more than a miUion of men in the 
armies of the North. These were trained soldiers who 
knew all about the art of war, but had long been re- 
moved from the arts of peace. In old times such an 
army would have set up a kingdom and put their 
leader on the throne. Their generals would have 
become nobles, and spent a life of pride and idleness 
while making the people work for them, as was the 
case in France, about sixty years before, when Napoleon 
Bonaparte made himself emperor. 

What did the army of America do? As fast as the 
soldiers were paid off they laid down their arms and 
returned home, where they at once went to work to 
make a peaceful living. They became farmers, me- 
chanics, merchants, etc., as they had been before the 
war. The generals began to make their living in the 
same quiet way as the men from the ranks. Even 
General Grant and General Lee were not too proud 
to work to earn a living. In a year or two after 
the war the armies had disappeared. Only the few 
soldiers were left that were needed to act as police 
for the nation. 

This was a remarkable result. In the countries of 
Europe to-day there are millions of soldiers, though 
these countries are at peace. Twenty-five thousand 
soldiers were enough to answer all the purposes of the 

272 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 273 

United States until 1898, when the wars in Cuba and 
the Philippines caused an increase of the army to be 
made. The people of America are not forced to give 
part of their wages to keep up great and useless armies, 
and this is one reason why American workmen are so 
much better off than those of Europe. 

The Electric Cable. — It is in the arts of peace that 
America is now winning its victories. Let us see what 
some of these have been. One of the victories of peace 
came just after the war, when an electric wire, or cable, 
was laid under the ocean from America to Europe and 
people began to send messages to one another under two 
thousand miles of sea. Since that time other cables 
have been laid between Europe and America, and every 
day now our papers print long accounts of what is 
taking place in Europe. They get their news from that 
great distance more quickly than they could have got 
news from a place ten miles away in the last century. 

Telegraph Extension. — In the United States tele- 
graph wires now spread everywhere, and everything of 
importance that takes place is told in the newspapers 
of the whole country a few hours afterwards. There 
are more than two hundred and fifty thousand miles 
of telegraph lines, nearly three times as much as in 
any other country, and enough to go ten times around 
the earth. On these iron or copper wires are used, but 
telegraphing without wires is now growing common, 
the electric current passing through the air and reach- 
ing ships far out at sea and even taking news from 
America to Europe. 

Signal Service. — One of the great benefits of the 
telegraph is its use in the signal service. Every day 
18 



274 RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 

the state of the weather in all parts of the country is 
telegraphed to Washington. The reports thus received 
are carefully studied, and the kind of weather that is 
likely to come is made out and telegraphed in all 
directions. Warnings of storms thus sent are of great 
use to sea-captains and farmers, and there is no one 
who does not take interest in them. Along the coast 
there are life-saving stations, for the rescue of sailors 
and passengers from wrecked ships. These have 
proved of great service, and many lives have been 
saved by their brave crews. 

Electrical Discoveries. — Electricity had been made 
useful in many other w^ays. The streets of many of 
our cities and towns are brightly lighted with it, 
and stores and houses also use it for this purpose. 
It is used to run machinery and locomotives. By 
the invention of the telephone men are able to talk 
with one another over many miles of distance in the 
same tones they use in talking face to face. And 
they are even learning how to telephone without the 
use of wires. All this is very wonderful. It seems 
the w^ork of magic. Yet it is as true as wonderful, 
and is the result of thought and industry, not the work 
of magic. 

It is interesting to know that vessels in peril at sea 
can make their danger known by wireless telegraphy. 
In this way, when a great steamship, full of passengers, 
was run into in 1908 and was ready to sink, telegraph 
messages were sent over the waters and other vessels 
came up, so that the lives of all those on board were 
saved. In former times such a thing could not have 
been done and all these people would have perished. 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 



275 



Railroad Extension. — The railroads have made as 
great progress as the telegraphs. The greatest feat in 
railroad building that the world had known up to that 
time was finished in 1869. This included the Union 
and Central Pacific Railroads, from Omaha, across the 
great plains and the Rocky Mountains, to San Fran- 
cisco. The last spike of this railroad system was 




Driving the Last Spike Connecting the Union and Central Pacific Railroad. 

driven in May, near Ogden, in the Territory of Utah. 
This spike was connected with the telegraph wires, 
so that, as the blows of the hammer fell on it, they 
were heard in the telegraph offices of the principal 
cities of the East. This was another great triumph of 
the telegraph, for these offices were thousands of miles 
away from where the spike was being driven. Since 
then four other Pacific railroads, two in the North 
and two in the South, have been built. A traveller 
can now go from New York to San Francisco, a dis- 



276 RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 

tance of three thousand three hundred miles, in five 
days. He can cross the ocean to Europe in as short 
a time in the fast steamships which now start at 
frequent intervals. 

There are now more than two hundred and fifty 
thousand miles of railroad in the United States, — 
more than in all Europe, and nearly as much as in all 
the world outside of this country. These railroads 
have been a wonderful aid to travel. Sixty years ago 
it took a person half a year to go from the State of 
Oregon to Washington City; now he can do it in a 
few days. Thousands of persons travel to-day for 
every one who did so a century ago. Then a man would 
make his will if he were going from New York to 
Boston; now he would hardly think of doing so if he 
were going to China. Railroads are also of the greatest 
use in carrying goods of all kinds from one part of 
the country to another. Without them it would be 
impossible for the great cities of America to exist, 
for they could not get the food their people need. 

The Postal Service. — For a long time the govern- 
ment had been carrying letters for the people; but at 
first very few were carried, and these went very 
slowly. Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster- 
General. The cost of the postal service then was great. 
But the railroads made the expense small, while the 
speed became much greater. Before 1850 it cost ten 
cents to send a letter from Philadelphia to Boston. 
The next year it was reduced to three cents for the 
distance of three thousand miles and in 1863 the price 
was made three cents to all parts of the country. 
In 1883 postage was reduced to two cents, and a letter 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 277 

can now be sent for two cents to England and Ger- 
many and to the Philippine Islands. A Parcels Post 
system was established January 1, 1913, under which 
packages up to 50 pounds weight are carried at low rates. 
It is not only by the postal service that news is now 
carried over the United States. The electric telegraph, 
of which we have just spoken, is used by millions of 
people to send messages, not only over land, but under 
the seas, so that every morning the newspapers tell us 
of what took place in all parts of the world the day 
before. Not only messages, but pictures, can be sent 
by telegraph; and by the aid of the wonderful tele- 
phone men can hear the voices of their friends hun- 
dreds of miles away. 

Electric Cars. — For many years the people of our 
cities rode through the streets in cars drawn by horses. 
Electricity has now taken the place of horses for this 
purpose, and cars filled with passengers may be seen 
darting along in a way that seems magical, for no eye 
can behold the power that makes them move. These 
trolley cars, as they are called, run also far into the 
country and from city to city, and in some places 
large engines are moved by electric power. Many 
think that the travel of the future will be largely done 
in electric cars and that the steam locomotive will 
pass away. 

Automobiles. — The horse is of much less use now than 
of old. Not only have cars moved by electric power 
taken the place of this useful animal, but carriages to 
run without horses are coming into use. These are 
moved by small motors, worked by electricity, steam, 
and other sources of power, and are known as auto- 



278 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 



mobiles. First used largely in France, they have come 
into common use in this country, and there are thou- 
sands of them in our cities. Those who cannot afford 
an automobile may ride about on bicycles, a two- 
wheeled vehicle in which the power is usually supplied 
by the muscles of the rider. 

The New Navy. — In the past battle-ships were built 
of wood and high masts, with a great sweep of sail. 




Copyright 1907, by Underwood and Underwood, New York. 

Modern Battle-Ships. 

At present war-vessels are covered with thick plates 
of steel, and are moved by powerful steam-engines. 
The fleets that once proudly swept the seas would 
soon be sent to the bottom by the great rifled cannons 
now in use. The nations of Europe have built them- 
selves large navies of this kind. The United States long 
had the old-fashioned monitors of the Civil War, but 
now possesses a new navy, some of whose vessels are 
among the swiftest and strongest in the world. New 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 279 

vessels are added every year, and the navy of the 
United States now ranks next to that of Great Britain 
among the navies of the nations. In 1908 its power 
was shown by the voyage of a great fleet of American 
battle-ships around the world. 

Increase of Population. — The population of the 
United States in 1790, when the first census was taken, 
was less than four millions. In the year 1910 it was 
nearly ninety-two millions, an addition of more than 
eighty-eight millions in little over a century. This is 
a great increase. If this rate of growth continues the 
United States will soon have the greatest population 
of any enlightened nation of the earth. 

The people of Europe are coming here in great mul- 
titudes every year; at present they number more than 
a million in each year. These spread over all parts of 
the country, and are very useful as farmers, laborers, 
and mechanics. Many of them, however, are very 
ignorant and do not make good citizens. There are 
laws to prevent paupers and some other classes from 
entering the country, and it is proposed to keep out 
all who cannot read or write. Other restrictions will, 
no doubt, in time be made, so that only the more 
desirable classes of immigrants can be admitted. 

The Indians. — The Indians, who once had possession 
of the whole country, are now collected on reservations 
in the West. They are so few in number that these 
reservations are very thinly peopled. There has been 
no fighting for many years with the Indians, and there 
is not likely to be any more. They are provided with 
food by the government, but many of them are work- 
ing for themselves. Some of the tribes of the former 



280 RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 

Indian Territory are becoming civilized. They long 
held their lands in common; but these are now being 
divided among some tribes into farms, so that each 
Indian family may have its own farm. It is thought 
that they will become more contented and industrious 
when this is completed. 

One of the great means taken to civilize the Indians 
is by education. Schools have been started at various 
points, in which Indian children are taught the ele- 
ments of knowledge, the use of tools, and the benefits 
of industry. These schools are proving very useful, 
and many young Indians are going back to their 
tribes with trained hands and cultivated minds. In 
a few years these young men will become leaders in 
the tribes and do much to bring them into habits 
of civilization. The days of the wild Indians of this 
country are nearly over. In the future we shall have 
working and thinking Indians to take their place. 

Increase of Wealth. — In the years that have passed 
since the close of the war the United States has grown 
greatly in riches. In 1880, Great Britain was the only 
country in the world that had more wealth. By 1900 
the United States had become the richest country on 
the earth. Part of this wealth comes from the product 
of the American mines. The mines of the West yield 
a large value in gold and silver yearly; but the iron, 
coal, copper, and other mines of the country are still 
more valuable. And of much greater value is the soil, 
which yields more food than all the people of the United 
States can consume. 

Manufacturing Industries. — Another great source of 
this wealth is the manufacturing industry of the 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 281 

United States, which produces thousands of milHons 
of dollars' worth of goods yearly. In former times most 
of the articles used in this country were brought from 
Europe, but now many things are sent from here to 
Europe. American watches are the cheapest in the 
world, and no better are made anywhere. Many other 
things came from abroad, such as glassware, fine 
furniture, soap, writing-paper, perfumery, carriages, 
and numerous other articles; now we make more than 
we can use of these goods, and send many of them to 
other countries. 

At one time all our fine knivas, tools, and other 
articles made of steel came from Sheffield, in Eng- 
land, and only coarse cutlery and tools were made 
here; now American cutlery is sent to Sheffield and 
sold there. Years ago nearly all our carpets were 
brought from England; but now the city of Phila- 
delphia is the greatest carpet manufacturing city in 
the world. The same could be said of many other 
things. The United States sends to other countries 
to-day great quantities of manufactured goods, meat, 
and grain. We produce so much more than we can 
use that there is plenty left to sell to other countries. 

Invention of Machinery. — This great progress is due 
to the remarkable inventive power of the Americans. 
In machinery for saving labor the United States is in 
advance of all other nations. Our inventors are so 
active that more than thirty-five thousand patents 
have been granted in a single year. Machines are 
made to do all kinds of work. Farmers do not have to 
work half so hard as they once did, and yet they pro- 
duce much more. The same may be said of every 



282 RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 

kind of manufacturing business. A hundred years 
ago the printing-press could only print two hundred 
and fifty sheets on one side in an hour; now forty 
thousand sheets can be printed on both sides in the 
same time. 

Progress of the South. — This progress is not confined 
to the North and West. The South is making great 
progress also. At the end of the war the Southern 
States were in a condition of ruin. Only their soil 
was left, and much of that had been so overworked 
that it was of no value. The slaves on whom they 
had depended to do their work were free. It looked 
as if it would take a century to recover from the ruin 
of the war. 

Yet the South to-day is richer and better off than it 
ever was. Free labor has proved more profitable than 
slave labor, and the crops of cotton and other produce 
are greater than ever. And the white population 
has gone to work nobly and cheerfully. The country 
is now being developed everywhere. Iron and coal 
mines are now being opened and worked, and work- 
shops and factories are being built in many parts of 
the South. Great exhibitions have been held at New 
Orleans, Atlanta, and Charleston, in which the prog- 
ress of the South was shown. In the time to come the 
whole country will be one great hive of industry, and 
nil parts will work together for the good of the whole. 

The Pacific States. — While there has been great 
progress in the older parts of the country, the same 
may be said of the far West. There are no more pro- 
ductive States in the Union than those that border 
on the Pacific. For many miles inland from the ocean 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 283 

the land is very fertile and the crops are large, fruits 
being especially fine and plentiful. The orchards of 
Oregon and Washington and the vineyards and orange 
groves of California are nowhere surpassed. 

In the mountain regions of the West little rain falls 
and much of the country is a desert. But the water 
of the rivers and mountain streams is carried to the 
fields in long canals, from which many small ditches 
convey it to the soil. This system is called irrigation, 
and large crops are raised by its aid. Great herds of 
cattle and sheep are also kept, and the mountains are 
covered with forests of valuable timber, many of the 
trees being of immense size. 

Mining. — But the great value of the Sierra Nevada 
and Rocky Mountains lies in their mines of the preci- 
ous metals and other valuable minerals. Gold, silver, 
lead, and copper are abundant, and rich deposits of 
many other minerals are found. No part of the world 
has yielded more gold than California, but Colorado 
is now the greatest producer of gold. Nevada and 
Colorado have proved very rich in silver; others of the 
Western States have mines of gold, silver, copper, 
iron, lead, etc. 

Gold in Alaska. — For a number of years men had 
been mining gold in Alaska, and in the summer of 
1897 the news came that rich deposits of placer gold 
had been found on the Klondike, a branch of the great 
Yukon River. The region was cold and barren, and 
very difficult to reach; but' thousands of miners went 
there, though there was danger that they might starve 
from lack of food. It is now easy to get there by 
railroad and steamboat. 



284 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 



Gold has been found since in great abundance 
at Cape Nome, on the coast of Alaska. In placer 
deposits the gold is found in the sands and gravels 
along the rivers, having been washed from the quartz 
veins in the mountains. To obtain it the earth is dug 
up and the sand and dirt washed from the gold by run- 




GoLD Miners in Alaska. 

ning water. In Alaska the ground is frozen, and must 
be softened by fires before the gold-bearing soil can be 
obtained. This is done in the winter, and the earth is 
washed when the streams begin to flow in the summer. 
Petroleum and Natural Gas. — Another great source 
of wealth in this country is its vast supply of petro- 
leum, or rock oil, which is found far below the surface. 
It is reached by boring deep wells, from which the oil 



RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 285 

flows or is pumped up. Petroleum is abundant in 
Pennsylvania and some other States, and is much 
used for burning and other purposes. Many of these 
wells also yield large quantities of what is known as 
natural gas, which burns with a bright flame and great 
heat. It is used for lighting and warming houses and 
in factories, and is conveyed from the wells in pipes 
to distant towns and cities, where it takes the place 
of coal in manufactories. 

Fish Culture. — The lakes and rivers of the United 
States, and the waters of the neighboring oceans, are 
rich in fishes, many of which are very valuable as food. 
But fishing has been so active and reckless that the 
supply is growing small, and there has long been danger 
that this great source of wealth would fail. This is 
prevented by what is known as fish culture. Every 
year many milHons of fish-eggs are hatched out by 
artificial means and the young fish cared for until they 
are able to care for themselves. They are then placed 
in the open waters, and in a few years are large enough 
to catch. In this way the supply of fish is likely to be 
kept up, no matter how many may be caught in the 
fishermen's nets. 

Commerce. — The grain and cotton grown and the 
goods made in the United States are sent to all parts 
of the earth and other goods are brought back. This 
ocean commerce has increased rapidly in recent years, 
the total value of these goods being now over S4,000,- 
000,000 yearly. And the goods sent out are worth 
several hundreds of millions of dollars more than those 
received, so that we have a large balance of trade in 
our favor, which we receive in money. 



286 RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 

Education. — If we look for the causes of this great 
progress we shall find that one of the most important 
is education. The people of the United States are 
among the best educated on the face of the earth. 
In 1900 there were a great multitude of public schools 
in the country, with over sixteen million pupils. There 
are now many more than this. Besides these, there 
are more than four hundred colleges and a very con- 
siderable number of private schools. Our people 
spend more for the support of their public schools 
than the people of all Europe. In this way we are being 
taught to use our brains as well as our hands, and it is 
this brain-work which keeps the country so active in 
every direction. 

School-life is not ended when the school-term of the 
boy or girl is over. We go to school all our lives, and 
our education is all the time increasing. Newspapers 
and books constantly add to the learning gained in the 
school-house. There are now over twenty thousand 
newspapers and magazines in the United States, there 
being enough newspapers printed every week to give 
one to every man, woman, and child in the country. 
Books are also printed in such numbers that every 
one can have all the reading he needs for very little 
money. A century ago many of the people could not 
get one new book a year. Many now get a new one 
almost every day. 

Every city has its libraries, its art galleries, and other 
means for the higher education of the people. Educa- 
tion is spreading in new directions. Instruction in 
industry is one of the new ideas of the times. Children 
are being taught to draw and to use tools, and are thus 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION 287 

being made fit for the business of life; for in life the 
body has to be used as well as the brain, and to make 
the best kind of a man the body and the brain of the 
child need to be educated together. 

Benevolence. — Of one more thing we may speak. 
The people of the United States are developing in 
charity as well as in other directions. Everywhere we 
see hospitals, asylums, and homes which have been 
started by the money of rich people. Whenever a 
great fire takes place, or a great storm destroys farms 
and villages, the people give money freely to help the 
destitute. This is the best kind of progress. It is 
progress in that love for all mankind which was taught 
by Christ. Let us hope that it will grow and spread 
in this country, for in that way the people of America 
may be made the noblest and the happiest of all the 
people of the earth. 



PART IX.— QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

How many soldiers were in arms at the end of the war? What 
would such an army have done in old times? What did the Ameri- 
can army do? What advantage do we get from the Atlantic cables? 
How many miles of telegraph line are there in the United States? 
How does this compare with the telegraphs of other countries? 
What is the purpose of the signal service? To whom is it of great 
use? In what ways is electricity used? What does the telephone 
enable men to do? What great feat in railroad building was finished 
in 1869? Describe the event of driving the last spike. What other 
Pacific raihoads are there? How long does it take to go from 
New York to San Francisco? How long to Europe? How many 
miles of railroad are there in the United States? How does this 
compare with Europe and the world? How has it affected travel? 
In what other ways are the railroads useful? How many post- 



288 RECENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 

offices were there in the United States in 1790? How many are 
there now? How much faster are letters carried now than then? 
What was the rate of postage then? What is it now? What can 
you say about the electric street-cars? What about the use of 
bicycles and of motor carriages? What changes have taken place 
in our navy? What has been the increase in population? How 
many persons come here from Europe? How are the Indians cared 
for? What means are taken to civilize them? In what way are 
the Indian schools useful? Which is the richest country in the 
world? What are important sources of the wealth of America? 
What kinds of goods did we formerly get from abroad? What do 
we now send abroad? To what do we owe our great progress in 
manufacturing? How many patents have been granted in a single 
year? Do people have to work as hard as they did? What advance 
has been made in the art of printing? What changes have taken 
place in the South? What is said of the Pacific States? What oi 
the products of the mines? Of the gold of Alaska? What other 
great source of natural wealth can you name? Tell what you 
know about fish culture. About the commerce of this country. 
What progress has been made in education? How many newspapers 
and magazines are there at the present time? How have the num- 
ber of books increased in this country? What other means of edu- 
cation have the cities? What new idea is there in education? What 
is said about benevolence in America? In what ways do people 
give money freely? What effect is progress in this direction likely 
to have upon the American people? 



INDEX. 



A. 

Acadians, home of the, 111; ex- 
pulsion by the English, 112. 

Aeroplane, the, 266. 

Adams, John, on the Declaration 
of Independence Committee, 
135; elected President, 162. 

Adams, John Quincy, President, 
178. 

Agriculture, 91, 148, 279. 

Alabama and Kearsarge, the, 232. 

Alabama claims, settlement of the, 
243. 

Alaska, purchased from Russia, 
241; seal fisheries of, 254; gold 
discoveries in, 279-80. 

Allen, Ethan, capture of Ticon- 
deroga by, 131. 

Amendments to the Constitution, 
238, 242, 266. 

America discovered by Columbus, 
6; how named, 9; native inhab- 
itants of, 26. 

American commerce, interference 
with, 166. 

American discontent, causes of, 
119-125. 

Anderson, Major, at Fort Sumter, 
210. 

Andre, Major, capture and execu- 
tion of, 144. 

Andros, Sir Edmund, 49. 

Antietam, battle of, 222. 

Arbitration, of the Alabama 
claims, 243; of the seal fisher- 
ies, 244. 

Armies, disbanding of the, 268. 

Arnold, Benedict, attack on Que- 
bec by, 133; treason of, 144. 

Arthur, Chester A., becomes. 
President, 248. 

Automobiles, 273^ 



B. 

Bacon, Nathaniel, rebellion of, 38. 

Balboa discovers the Pacific, 12. 

Barbary States, war with the, 174, 

Benevolence, progress of, 280. 

Bennington, battle of, 141. 

Berkeley, Governor, revenge of, 
38. 

Bicycle, the, 274. 

Blockade runners, the, 223. 

Boone, Daniel, in Kentucky, 147, 
180. 

Boston, the English besieged in, 
131; evacuation of, 133. 

Boston massacre, 124; tea-party, 
125; port bill, 125; fire, 243. 

Braddock, General, character of, 
108; defeat of, 109. 

Brandywine, battle of the, 139. 

Buchanan, James, elected Presi- 
dent, 212. 

Buena Vista, battle of, 196. 

Bull Run, first battle of, 217; 
second battle of, 222. 

Bunker Hill, battle of, 131-2. 

Burgoyne, march of, 141; sur- 
render of, 142. 

C. 

Cabots, voyages of the, 10. 

California, capture of, by Fremont, 
197; value of, 199. 

Canada, discovery of, 12. 

Canonicus, story of, 41. 

Carohnas, the, settled by the 
French, 18; colonization of, 77; 
war of, with Florida, 81; divis- 
ion of, 81; life in, 84-5. 

Cartier, Jacques, voyages of, 12. 

Census of 1890, the, 253; of 1900, 
260; 1910, 265, 275. 



XI 



INDEX* 



Centennial Exhibition, the, 244. 

Cervera, Admiral, 259. 

Champlain, Samuel de, story of, 
22-24. 

Chancellorsville, battle of, 226. 

Charleston, capture of, in the 
Revolutionary war, 145; bom- 
bardment of Fort Sumter at, 
216; earthquake at, 260. 

Charter, the Boston, 42. 

Charter Oak, the, 49. 

Claims of the nations, 11. 

Charter troubles, the, 48. 

Chattanooga, the battles around, 
229. 

Chicago fire, the, 242; anarchists, 
the, 250. 

Chicago, the World's Fair at, 261. 

Chinese exclusion, 251. 

Cities of Revolutionary times, the, 
151-2. 

City life after the Revolution, 182. 

Civil Service Reform, 256. 

Civil war, description of the, 216- 
33. 

Clay* Henry, 194, 210. 

Clayborne's rebellion, 68. 

Cleveland, Grover, elected Presi- 
dent, 249, 255. 

Coal, 187. 

Colonies, growth of, 91; industries 
of, 91 ; isolation of, 91 ; travel in, 
93; government and laws of, 93. 

Columbus, Christopher, story of, 
3-9. 

Commerce, Department of, 261. 

Commerce, interference with 
American, 93, 167. 

Commerce of New England, 149; 
of the United States, 281. 

Commission Government, 268. 

Concord, stores at, 127; English 
expedition against, 127-9. 

Confederacy, the New England, 
48; the Southern, 215. 

Ck)ngress, the first Continental, 
126, the second Continental, 
132; after the Revolution, 158; 
the Constitutional, 159; Pan- 
American, 251. 

Connecticut, Dutch and English 
in, 62. 



Constitution and Guerriere, battle 
between the, 171. 

Constitution of the United 
States, formation of the, 159; 
character of the, 160; amend- 
ments to the, 238, 242, 266. 

Constitutional Convention, the, 
159. 

Continental Congress, the first, 
126; the second, 132. 

Copyright Bill, the, 253. 

Cornwallis, surrender of, 146. 

Cortez and Pizarro, 13. 

Cotton cultivation in the South, 
184. 

Cotton-gin, invention of the, 184. 

Creek Indians, the, 90, 192. 

Cuba, war in, 257; republic of, 
260. 

Customs of the Puritans, 54-60; 
of the Dutch, 65-7; of the 
Pennsylvanians, 74-7; of the 
Virginians and Carolinians, 80- 
5; of the Georgians, 89; of the 
United States people, 182-4. 

D. 

Davis, Jefferson, President of the 

Confederacy, 215, 221. 
Decatur, Lieutenant, exploits of, 

166, 174. 
Declaration of Independence, 135- 

7. 
Delaware, Lord, comes to Virginia, 

36. 
Delaware settled by the Swedes, 

63; how named, 73; separated 

from Pennsylvania, 73. 
Delaware River, the, 62. 
Democratic party, the, 175, 178, 

202. 
Denys, John, discovery by, 11. 
De Soto, expedition of, 14-17. 
Departments, U. S. Government, 

261. 
Dewey, Admiral, victory of, at 

Manila, 258. 
Drake, Sir Francis, exploits of^, 

17. 
Dred Scott Case, the, 212. 
Duke of York^ the, 63,. 



INDEX 



m 



Dutch in Connecticut, the, 44; in 
New York, 61; Swedish settle- 
ment captured by the, 63; 
houses of the, 66; dress and 
industries of the, 66. 

Dutch settlement taken by the 
Enghsh, 63. 

E. 

Education, in Virginia, 84; prog- 
ress of, in the United States, 
205, 280. 

Electric cable, laying of the, 269. 

Electric cars, 273. 

Electricity, discoveries in, 270. 

Emancipation of the slaves, 225. 

Embargo Act, the, 167. 

Emigration along the Ohio, 181. 

England, first exploration from, 
10, restrictive laws of, 93; 
oppressive edicts of, 119-204; 
troubles with, 167; military 
strength of, 168. 

English colonies, the first, 20; 
claims of the, 99. 

English companies, the, 33; pris- 
ons, the, 86. 

English soldiers sent to America, 
123. 

Escape of Mrs. Dustin, 53. 

Exhibitions, industrial, 249, 255, 
261, 265. 

F. 

Farm life in America, 183. 

Farming industries, 148. 

Farragut, Admiral, on the Missis- 
sippi, 219; in Mobile Bay, 232. 

Fillmore, Millard, becomes Presi- 
dent, 209. 

Fish culture, 280. 

Florida discovered, 12; war of, 
with Carolina, 80; with Geor- 
gia, 87; with the United States, 
175; purchase of, 175. 

Fort Du Quesne, building of, 107, 
108; expedition against, 108; 
capture of, 110. 

Fort Moultrie, defence of, 133. 

Fort Necessity, 107. 

Fort Sumter, bombardment of, 216. 



Fort Ticonderoga, 113, 114. 

France, expedition from, 11; 
treaty with, 142. 

Franklin, Benjamin, sketch of life, 
76-7; sent to London, 123; on 
the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence Committee, 135; in the 
Constitutional Convention, 159. 

Fredericksburg, battle of, 223. 

Free Soil party, the, 212. 

Fremont, General, takes Cali- 
fornia, 197. 

French and Indian war, the, 107- 
116. 

French and Indians, wars with 
the, 53-4. 

French, colonies of, in America, 
18, 22; settlements of, in the 
West, 97; enterprise of, 100; 
forts of, on the Mississippi, 103; 
claims of, to the Ohio country, 
104. 

Fugitive slave law, the, 210. 

Fulton, Robert, the steamboat 
invented by, 184. 

Fur trade, the, 200. 

G. 

Garfield, James A., elected Presi- 
dent, 247; assassination of, 248. 

Georgia, settlement of, 86; war of, 
with Florida, 87; laws and 
industries of, 88. 

Germantown, battle of, 140. 

Gettysburg, battle of, 227. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, voyage 
of, 20. 

Gold, discovered in California, 198, 
results of the discovery of, 199; 
specie pavments of, resumed, 
241; in Alaska, 275, 279. 

Good feeling, the era of, 175. 

Gosnold, Bartholomew, 22. 

Gourgues, Dominique de, revenge 
of, 20. 

Government, "Grand Model," the 
78. 

Government of the Puritans, 41- 
43; of New England, 48; of the 
Carolinas, 78; of Virginia, 82-3; 
of the United States, 159-62. 



IV 



INDEX 



Grant, General, in civil war, 208; 
at Vicksburg, 228; commander- 
in-chief, 229; advance of, on 
Richmond, 230; elected Presi- 
dent, 242, 243. 

Greene, General, campaign of, 145. 

Growth of the colonies, 91, 126; 
of the population, 180; of the 
country, 201. 

H. 

Habits of the people, 152. 

Harper's Ferry, the raid on, 213. 

Harrison, Benjamin, elected Presi- 
dent, 251; second nomination 
of, 255. 

Harrison, General, defeats Tecum- 
seh, 168; victory of, on the 
Thames, 170; elected President, 
193. 

Hawaii, annexation of, 259. 

Hayes, Rutherford B., elected 
President, 244. 

Henry, Patrick, opposes the Eng- 
lish taxation, 123. 

Hood, General, defeat of, at Nash- 
ville, 231-2. 

Hooker, General, 226. 

Hudson, Henry, discoveries of, 
25-6. 

I. 

Immigration, 202, 275. 

Independence, Declaration of, 135 
meaning of the, 137. 

Indian raids in Virginia, 110. 

Indian Territory, the, 192, 262. 

Indians, named by Columbus, 7; 
first battle with the, 23; descrip- 
tion of the, 26-31; of Virginia, 
the, 34; of New England, 41 ; dis- 
posal and education of the, 275. 

Indians, the Quakers and the, 71, 
75. 

Indians, wars with the, 49-53, 117, 
162, 168, 191. 

Industries of the Puritans, 59; of 
the CaroUnas, 79; of Georgia, 
89; of the colonies, 91. 

Industry, restoration of, 174. 



Initiative and Referendum, 268. 
Internal improvements, 177. 
Invention, activity of Americans 

in, 204; progress of, 277. 
Iroquois, defeat of, by Champlain, 

23; revenge of, 24-29. 
Irrigation in the West, 262, 265. 

J. 

Jackson, General, at New Orleans, 
171; in Florida, 175; elected 
President, 187; character of, 
187; dealings of, with South 
Carolina, 188; with the United 
States Bank, 188. 

Jackson, Stonewall, exploits of, 
221; death of, 226. 

James River, colony on the, 33. 

Jamestown, 33, 37. 

Jasper, Sergeant, daring of, 133. 

Jefferson, Thomas, writes the 
Declaration of Independence, 
135; elected President, 163-4. 

John Brown raid, the, 203. 

Johnson, Andrew, becomes Presi- 
dent, 238; impeachment of, 239. 

Johnstown disaster, the, 251. 

Jones, Captain Paul, story of, 143. 

K. 

Kansas, the troubles in, 211. 
Kidd, Captain, 54. 
King Philip, war with, 50; death 
of, 52. 

L. 

Lafayette, General, 139. 

Lake Champlain, battle of, 170. 

Lake Erie, battle of, 170. 

Lake George, battle of, 114. 

Landing of Columbus, the, 7. 

La Salle, story of, 101-2. 

Laws, of Georgia, 88; English colo- 
nial, 94, 120; evasion of, 120. 

Lee, General, made Confederate 
commander, 221; advances 
north, 222, 226; in the Wilder- 
ness, 226, 230; at Gettysburg, 
227; defends Richmond, 230; 
surrender of, 233. 



INDEX 



Lee, Richard Henry, motion for 
liberty of the colonies made by, 
135. 

Leisler's revolt, 64. 

Lewis and Clark, expedition of, 
199. 

Lexington, battle of, 128-9. 

Lincoln, Abraham, elected Presi- 
dent, 214; emancipates the 
slaves, 225; assassination of, 
233. 

Locke, John, plan of government 
of, 78. 

Lookout Mountain, battle of, 229. 

Lord Baltimore, 68-9. 

Louisburg, capture of. 111. 

Louisiana, named by La Salle, 
102; purchase of, 165. 

M. 

McClellan, General, besieges Rich- 
niond, 221; retreat of, 222; at 
Antietam, 222. 

McKjnley, William, elected Presi- 
dent, 257, 260; murder of, 260. 

Machinery, invention of, 277. 

Madison, James, elected Presi- 
dent, 167. 

Magellan sails round the globe, 13. 

Maine, the sinking of the, 257. 

Manhattan Island bought by the 
Dutch, 61. 

Manila, naval victory at, 259. 

Manufactures in America, 120, 
150, 203, 276. 

Marco Polo, travels of, 2. 

Mariner's compass, discovery of 
the, 2. 

Marion, General, 145. 

Marquette discovers the Missis- 
sippi, 100. 

Maryland, settlement of, 67-9. 

Massachusetts Bay settlement, 
42-4. 

Massacre of the French colonists, 
19; at Fort William Henry, 114; 
of Wyoming, 143. 

Massacres, Indian, in Virginia, 37; 
in New England, 53-4. 

Meade, General. 227. 

Menendez, massacre by, 19-20. 



Mexican war, the, 194-7. 

Mineral wealth of the United 
States, 276, 279. 

Mines, value of, 203, 279. 

Minute-men, the, 126, 129. 

Mississippi, jetties of the, 247. 

Mississippi River discovered by 
De Soto, 15; discovered by 
Marquette, 100; explored by 
La Salle, 102; opening of the, 
210, 219. 

Missouri Compromise, the, 126, 211. 

Monitor and Merrimac, the, 223-4. 

Monroe, James, elected President, 
175. 

Monroe Doctrine, the, 177. 

Montcalm, Marquis de, in com- 
mand at Quebec, 115; death of, 
116. 

Montreal, 116. 

Mormons, the, 202. 

Morse's telegraph, 204. 

Mound-builders, the, 26. 

Murfreesborough, battle of, 219. 

N. 

Narragansetts, defeat of the, 51-2. 
Narvaez, adventures of, 14. 
Nashville, Hood's defeat at, 232. 
Natural gas, 280. 
Natural resources of the United 

States, 263. 
Navy, the new, 274. 
Negro plot in New York, 64. 
Negroes first brought to America, 

37. 
New England, settlement of, 41-3; 

warlike feeling in, 127; inarms, 

129. 
New Jersey, settlement of, 78. 
New Mexico, 197-8, 266. 
New Orleans, founding of, 103; 

battle of, 172; surrender of, 219. 
New York, discovery of, 25; set- 
tled by the Dutch, 61; taken 

by the English; 63; hfe in, 65-6; 

captured in the Revolutionary 

War, 137. 
Newspapers and books, increafie 

of, 151, 205. 
Norsemen, the, 2. 



VI 



INDEX 



O. 

Oglethorpe, character of, 86; 

colony of, in Georgia, 86; later 

life of, 88; gift to, from the 

Indians, 90. 
Ohio Company, the, 104. 
Ohio River, claims to the valley 

of the, 104. 
Oklahoma, 262. 
Oregon, acquirement of, 200-1. 



P. 

Pacific States, progress of the, 278. 

Panama Canal, the, 261, 269. 

Pan-American Congress, the, 252. 

Panic, of 1837, 190, 192; of 1873, 
243; of 1893, 255. 

Parties, in the United States, 175- 
78; new poHtical, 212. 

Patroons, the Dutch, 67. 

Penn, WiUiam, story of, 70-72; 
treaty of, with the Indians, 71. 

Pennsylvania, settlement of, 71-3; 
hfe in, 74-6. 

Pension list, the, 254. 

People, modes of life of American, 
146-8, 180; prosperity of the 
186. 

Pequot war, the, 50-1. 

Perry, Captain, victory of, on 
Lake Erie, 170. 

Petroleum, 280. 

Philadelpliia, founding of, 71; de- 
scription of, 74-5; taken by the 
British, 139; evacuated by the 
British, 142. 

Philippine Islands, naval victory 
at the, 258; annexation of the, 
259; war in the, 259. 

Pierce, Franklin, elected Presi- 
dent, 211. 

Pilgrims, settlement of the, 39-42. 

Pioneers of the South, 147; of the 
North, 180. 

Pirates of the Carolinas, the, 67, 
79. 

Pittsburg Landing, battle of, 218. 

Pizarro in Peru, 13. 

Plantations, life on the, 81. 

Plymouth Company, 40-2. 



Pocahontas, the story of, 34. 

PoHtical parties, 163, 178. 

Polk, James K., elected President, 

194. 
Ponce de Leon's expedition to 

Florida, 12. 
Pontiac, Indian war of, 117. 
Population, of the colonies, 147; 

increase of, 180, 201, 253, 275. 
Populist party, the, 257. 
Porto Rico, invasion of, 259. 
Postal service, the, 272. 
Prisons, improvement in, 205. 
Progress of the South, 277. 
Proprietors of the Carolinas, the 

78. 
Punishments in New England, 57; 

in Virginia, 83. 
Puritan colony, the, 42-5. 
Puritans, life among the, 42-5. 

Q. 

Quakers, persecution of the, 45; 
description of, 70; in Pennsyl- 
vania, 72; in New Jersey, 72; 
dealings with the Indians, 75. 

Quebec, founding of, 22; capture 
of, by Wolfe, 115-6; repulse 
from, 133. 

R. 

Railroad, introduction of the, 
185-6. 

Railroads, in the United States, 
271; usefulness of the, 272. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 20-1. 

Reconstruction of the Union, 238. 

Religious liberty in Rhode Island, 
44; in Maryland, 68; in Penn- 
sylvania, 73. 

Religious persecution in the col- 
onies, 45-6, 69, 84. 

Republican-Democratic party, 
the, 145, 178. 

Republican party, the, 178, 212. 

Reserve Banks, 267. 

Revere, Paul, ride of, 127-8. 

Revolution, war of the, 128-46. 

Rhode Island, settlement of, 45. 

Ribault's colony, 18. 



INDEX 



vii 



Rice introduced into America, 79. 

Richmond made the Confederate 
States capital, 221; besieged 
by McClellan, 221; Grant's 
advance on, 230; Lee's retreat 
from, 233. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, elected Vice- 
i'resident, 260; becomes Presi- 
dent, 260; elected President, 261. 



S. 

St. Augustine, founding of, 18. 

Salem witchcraft, the, 46. 

San Francisco earthquake, the, 
262. 

Santiago, surrender of, 258. 

Scott, General, victories of, in 
Canada, 170; campaign of, in 
Mexico, 196. 

Seal fisheries of Alaska, 254. 

Secession of the Southern States, 
215, 216. 

Serapis, capture of the, by the 
Bonhomme Richard, 143. 

Settlements in the interior, 147, 
181. 

Seven days' fight, the, 222. 

Shays's rebellion, 157. 

Sheridan's ride, 230. 

Sherman, General, attacks Vicks- 
burg, 228; in command of 
Western army, 230; marches 
through Georgia, 221; advances 
north, 232. 

Signal service, the, 269. 

Slave law, fugitive, 210, 

Slavery in the colonies, 93; diffi- 
culties about, 176, 209. 

Slaves, emancipation of the, 225. 

Smith, Captain John, story of, 
34-6. 

Smith, progress of the, 277. 

South Carohna, the Revolutionary 
war in, 145; tariff troubles in, 
89; secession of, 214; invaded 
by Sherman, 232. 

Spain, Columbus aided by, 4; 
reception of Columbus in, 8; 
cruelty of, in Cuba, 257; war 
of, with United States, 258-9. 



Stamp Act, the, 122; repeal of, 123, 
Standard time, 249. 
Standish, Captain Miles, 41, 42. 
Stark, General, at Bennington, 

141. 
State Rights doctrine, the, 214. 
States, the original, 153, new, 162, 

176, 253, 262, 266. 
Steamboat, invention of the, 185 
Steamship, the first ocean, 185. 
Strikes of workmen, 246. 
Swedes, settlement of, on the 

Delaware River, 63; Dutch 

capture of, 63. 

T. 

Taft, William H., elected Presi- 
dent, 264. 

Tecumseh, 168, 170. 

Tariff question, the, 177, 189, 253, 
264, 267. 

Tax on tea, the, 124-5. 

Taxation, the dispute about, 121, 
124. 

Taylor, General, advance of, into 
Mexico, 195; victory of, at 
Buena Vista, 195; elected Presi- 
dent, 196, 209. 

Tea, the tax on, 124-25; the 
refusal to receive, 125. 

Telegraph, the electric, 204; length 
of, in the United States, 269. 

Telegraphy, wireless, 270. 

Temperance reform, the, 179. 

Territory, acquisition of, from 
Mexico, 198; increase of, 199. 

Texas, La Salle's colony in, 103; 
independence of, 194; annexed 
by the United States, 194; 
result of its annexation, 195. 

Thames, battle of the, 170. 

Thomas, General, victory of, at 
Nashville, 231. 

Ticonderoga, English repulse at, 
113; capture of, 130, 141. 

Tobacco, introduced into Europe, 
21; culture of, in Virginia, 37; 
used as money, 81. 

Travel in the colonies, 93; diffi- 
culties of, 152; recent facility 
in, 273. 



Vlll 



INDEX 



Treaties of peace with England, 

146, 173. 
Treaty of peace with Spain, 260. 
Tripoli, war with, 166. 
Trusts, prosecution of, 264, 269. 
Tyler, John, becomes President, 

193. 
Tyranny in Europe, 85 ; ten years 

of, 127. 

U. 

United States Bank, the, 190. 

United States, people of, 147; 
farming population of, 148; 
commerce of, 149; manufac- 
tures of, 152; travel in, 152; 
cities of, 153; extent of, 153; 
States of, 153, 176. 

Utah made a State, 255. 

V. 

Valley Forge, suffering of the 
army at, 140. 

Van Buren, Martin, elected Presi- 
dent, 192. 

Vera Cruz, capture of, 196. 

Verrazano, voyage of, 11. 

Vicksburg, passing the forts at, 
219; siege and surrender of, 
228. 

Vinland, 3. 

Virginia, settlement of, 33; Ohio 
valley claimed by, 104. 

Virginians, modes of life of the, 
81-4. 

Voyage of Columbus, the, 1, 3, 9. 

W. 

War, French and Indian, 107-16; 
Revolutionary, 128-46; second, 
with England, 168-73; with 
Mexico, 194-7; civil, 216-33; 
results of the civil, 236-8; 
Cuban, 258. 



Wars with the Indians, 49-53, 
107, 168, 191. 

Washington, George, early life rf, 
105; journey of, to the Ohio, 
106; in the French and Indian 
war, 107; made commander- 
in-chief, 132; retreat from New 
York, 137; victory at Trenton, 
138; at Valley Forge, 140; pur- 
sues the British, 142; at York- 
town, 146; patriotism of, 158; 
elected President, 161, death of, 
164. 

Washington City, the founding of, 
162; the burning of, 171. 

Washington Monument, the, 248. 

Wayne, General, capture of Stony 
Point by, 143; defeat of the 
Western Indians by, 162. 

Webster, Daniel, 206. 

West, settlements in the, 147, 161, 
181; the war in the, 218-228, 
231; irrigation in the, 262; 
mining in the, 279. 

Whig party, the, 178, 212. 

Whitney, Eli, invention of the 
cotton-gin by, 184. 

Wilderness, battle of the, 226, 
230. 

Williams, Roger, story of, 51, 445. 

Wilson, Woodrow, elected Presi- 
dent, 267. 

Witchcraft, the Salem, 46. 

Wolfe, General, capture of Quebec 
by, 115; death of, 116. 

World's Fair, the Centennial, 244; 
the Columbian, 255 ; the St. 
Louis, 261. 

Wyoming, massacre of, 143. 

Y. 

Yellow fever in the South, 246. 
Yorktown, the surrender of, 146. 



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